In My Blood
by AngelaOfDarkness
Summary: What if Kagome wasn't the only one who went through the well the very first time? Aiko, a childhood friend was with Kagome when Kagome fell into the well and they both rounded up being sent back into the Warring States Era of Japan. Follow Aiko as she journeys throughout the well-known story of InuYasha. Warnings and Disclaimers in the first chapter. Mostly Cannon, slightly AU.
1. Chapter 1 - Down the Well

**A/N: Hello and welcome to my newest fanfic. Yes, I know that it is completely different from my previous works (from WoW to InuYasha ... what a change of story). But this was what I felt like making. As this chapter is uploaded, I have completed the first 16 chapters. This is mostly Cannon, though some of the scenes will be slightly altered (due to me fitting in my OC as though she was originally in the story), so this fanfic is slightly AU. I will mostly follow the manga, but I may be tempted to use the anime/movies, but I haven't quite decided yet. And I plan to upload every Sunday (my time, not sure what time of the day though... you'll just have to see).**

**Warnings: This story is MA-rated; there will be some dark themes like abuse and rape in later chapters (warnings will be in the respective chapter). Also, there will be lemony scenes as well as real lemons in later chapters (you have been warned and will be warned in the respective chapters).**

**Genres: Mainly Romance and Adventure, but also Angst, Drama, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**But anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading this.**

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**Chapter 1 – Down the Well**

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"Happy birthday, Kagome-chan," I said enthusiastically to her.

We were standing outside of our school, both gotten off at the same time. She beamed at me as I said 'happy birthday' to her.

"Thank you, Aiko-chan," Kagome responded almost jumping on the spot with visible glee.

"You didn't think I would forget you, did you?" I asked her after I gave her an affectionate hug, ignoring my bruised rib.

"Why would I think that? You've never forgotten it before."

True to that. I've known Kagome since I was six years old – she had only just turned five. We just clicked from the very beginning and since then, we've always hung out whenever possible. Though I was in a year over Kagome in school, we did manage to get lunch together, usually in the company of her other friends Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka. I didn't mind them, and they seemed to not mind me either.

She glanced me over from head to toe, clearly wanting to ask me something, yet not quite finding the courage to do so.

"Oh, come with it, Kagome-chan. I can see you want to ask me a question. Your whole face is screaming _'I got a question'_".

She was rocking back and forth on her feet before she sighed resignedly.

In a lowered voice she asked me: "How's it going at home?"

I bit my lip and glanced down at our feet; I didn't want to ruin her special day.

"Let's not talk about me, it's your birthday, so it should be you we talk about," I said in a breathy tone, trying to turn the conversation away from me, while at the same time I tried to forget any thoughts of how it was going back home.

"Now tell me," I said as I slung an arm over her shoulder and slowly pushed us out of the courtyard in front of the school and unto the streets, "What did ojī-san give you this time?"

That seemed to do the trick because she sighed exasperatedly over the question.

"The weirdest thing yet to date … Something he called a 'kappa' … I couldn't quite figure out if it was a foot or a hand … though, I ended up giving it to Buyo."

I snickered at her answer as I let go of her shoulder and righted my backpack. Every year, ojī-san would give her something weird that's supposedly a protective charm or something other random thing with mystifying properties. It was kind of funny, actually.

I glanced over at her, and she glanced at me as we stopped up.

"Ehm, Kagome-chan?" I asked and faced her, she mirrored my movement, "Do you think I could stay at your place for the night?"

She gave me a saddened smile, as she probably already figured out the reason why I wanted to stay at her place.

"I see no problem with that, and I don't think kā-san would mind it either," she said kindly, "It has been a while since you've come over for a visit, so I think kā-san would be ecstatic to see you again."

I gave her a forlorn smile.

"Thank you," I said while we began to head over to her place, "and you're right, it's been a while …"

As we headed to her home, we chit-chatted a bit, catching up on lost time and such. It was nice to talk with Kagome again, for it had been almost two weeks since I last spoke with her, one on one. Besides, I missed my dad's ōdachi, Ōginsairensā, which had gotten a permanent residing place at Kagome's, after my dad died.

It didn't take us long to reach her home, which we quickly entered.

"Tadaima," Kagome said as she quickly ushered us in.

We quickly got out of our shoes and headed inside. Kagome's mother stood in the kitchen and was already in the works of preparing dinner.

"Welcome home, Kagome-chan," she said while she turned her face towards us as we entered fully.

"Oh, I see you brought Aiko-chan with you … hello to you too, Aiko-chan – it's been a while."

Kagome's mother seemed pleased at seeing me; her gentle smile was a clear indication of so.

"Thank you, okā-san … I hope I don't intrude," I said as I gave her a gentle smile as well.

"Not at all, you're always welcome here."

"Thanks," I said; I really appreciated that I always was welcomed at Kagome's.

Before I could talk more to Kagome's mother, Kagome pulled me by my wrist up the stairs. She led me down the hallway of the second floor, when I heard the front door open and close rapidly. Not long after, a pair of feet stumbled up the stairs and stopped at the top of them.

"Kagome-chan?" a sweet boyish voice said in a questioning manner.

We both faced the owner of the voice and saw that it was Sōta, Kagome's little brother. He looked flustered and nervous.

"Is something wrong," Kagome asked him.

"It's Buyo … I can't find him … I think he's in the well-house. Can you help me?" he was wringing his hands against his shirt.

"I'll be right there in a moment," she said as she opened the door to her bedroom.

She quickly got her backpack off and turned to me.

"I'll help out, but I want to change first, if that's okay," I told her as I placed my backpack near her desk.

"Of course, we'll go search in the meantime," she said as she headed out of her room, closing the door behind her.

Hastily, I dug into my backpack and pulled out some clothes; I had counted on being able to stay at Kagome's for the night. I pulled forth a pair of black leggings that went past the knees, a light grey osode – it had black trimmings at the neckline, wrists, and bottom – a black obi, a pair of white tabi, and a pair of waraji. I placed the clothes on her desk and kept the waraji in the plastic bag I had stuffed them in. Quickly, I took off my school uniform and stuffed them down in my backpack, to then adorn my outfit. When done, I quickly took the waraji out of the plastic bag and exited Kagome's bedroom. With swift feet I hurried down the hallway and down the stairs. In my haste to help out Kagome and Sōta, I almost forgot to grab Ōginsairensā. Leaving the waraji in the entrance hall, I quickly ran up the stairs again and opened a cabinet on my right. It had been made into a small shrine in honor of my dad, with Ōginsairensā resting on the koshirae underneath the picture of my dad. I clasped my hand together and bowed from the waist down in front of the small picture of him. And a stoic picture of my dad it was, with his buzz-cut black hair, and slightly angular shaped face, his thin lips and broad nose, and his kind green eyes that reminded me of springtime.

"I miss you, otō-san," I whispered as I paid my respects to him.

I then grabbed the ōdachi from the koshirae, glancing forlornly at the black saya. I strapped the ōdachi onto the back of my obi, and then bowed before my dad again before I closed the cabinet doors once more. My feet almost didn't touch the steps of the stairs in my hurry to exit the household. When I got back to the entrance hall, I quickly stuck my feet into the waraji and exited with a quickened "See ya, okā-san" to Kagome's mother.

Then I ran as fast as I could towards the well-house.

"Bu~yo!" I heard Sōta call loudly for the sweet fat cat.

The doors were slid open and I stepped inside, spotting Kagome and Sōta at the top of the five-stepped-stair down to the well.

"You haven't found him yet?" I asked as I stopped up behind the kneeling form of Sōta.

"Not yet," Kagome said as she glanced at me; she was standing a little back and to the right side of Sōta.

"But he's somewhere down there…" Sōta said as he glanced back at me.

"Then we should get him," I said gently, folding my hands behind my back.

Sōta looked uncomfortably back at his sister.

"But, doesn't this place kinda … give you the creeps?" his tone a little shaky.

Kagome squatted down beside him as she said: "What, you scared? You're a boy, aren't you?"

I couldn't help the tiny snicker that escaped me. Sometimes, Kagome could be a bit mean to her brother, but I knew that she loved him.

Suddenly a scratching sound came from the boarded well.

Sōta squeaked in fright: "Th-there's something _in_ there!"

Kagome glanced at him nonchalantly: "Like, oh, say … our _cat_?!"

I snickered more loudly this time, not cruelly, but I thought it was kind of fun. The scratching sounds against the boards on the well were persistent.

"Geez…" Kagome then said as she stood up and walked down the few steps of the stair.

The boards creaked as she stepped on them, not being used regularly. As she neared the well, the scratching sounds became louder and somewhat more desperate in it. I felt curious and stepped down the stairs as well. When I had stepped down from the last step, I spotted Buyo, but before I could say anything, he rubbed himself up against Kagome's leg, purring lovingly at Kagome.

"YAAA!" Kagome yelled as she was frightened by his presence.

I sniggered at her reaction, just as Sōta screamed in fright as well, a small bump could be heard. Glancing up at him, I could see that he had landed on his behind with the scare of Kagome's frightened yell.

"Don't _yell_ like that! You _scared_ me!" Sōta said loudly.

Kagome picked up Buyo while she muttered annoyed "You little…"

I couldn't quite figure out if it was Sōta or Buyo that annoyed her. I glanced behind her at the well that seemed too eerily silent, which made me furrow my brows. I didn't know why, but I felt disturbed by it, like something ominous was down in the well. With my focus on the boards, I could see that they were suddenly trembling, like they were about to burst. My arms fell to my sides, as I only just registered Sōta call out after Kagome.

Then suddenly the boards smashed into pieces, as something otherworldly appeared from inside the well. It looked like a woman … except that the woman had six arms. The arms then wrapped around Kagome and she was caught by the pair of arms, shocked with the unforeseen happenstance. She let go of Buyo as she was quickly being dragged into the well.

"KAGOME!" I yelled as I jumped after her.

I got a hold of her leg as we were both pulled into the well by this six-armed woman. The thing seemed intent on Kagome. I was shocked, because when I looked down at it, it looked like the rest of her/it was just bones, but not in the form of a normal human; it looked like she was one long stretch of ribcage, with at least thirty sets of ribs. I gasped at the sight in front of me.

"**What joy … What strength I feel…**" she/it rasped hungrily looking kind of euphoric.

The weird woman was having a strong hold on Kagome's torso, as I adamantly held onto her leg, because I had a feeling that I shouldn't let go.

"**My flesh returns to me!**"

When the thing said it, I glanced down at the previously naked bones, only to see to my horror that she was somehow regenerating, her flesh turning into that of a centipede. Inwardly I squeaked: I hated bugs of all kinds. _What the heck is this thing?!_

"**You … Have it … Yes?**" the centipede woman rasped ecstatic, then her abnormally long tongue stuck out and licked the left side of Kagome's face.

_YUCK! YUCK-YUCK-YUCK!_ I looked away squirming unpleasantly at the thought of being licked by a freakish centipede woman.

"Let me … _go_ … you _freak_!" Kagome then screamed at the monster.

I glanced up at the same time as Kagome pushed against the centipede woman's face with her left hand, when a sharp pinkish light suddenly emerged from her hand. As it turned brighter, I closed my eyes and turned my head away. My heart beat rapidly in my chest as I clung to Kagome's leg.

"**I … will … not … lose it now …**" the raspy voice of the creature groaned out, "**… the Shikon … no … Tama …**"

_Huh?!_ _The Shikon no Tama _… it sounded familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place it.

Suddenly I felt a tumbling sensation and I opened my eyes. Only to realize that I was about to tumble down, front first, over the earth. My hands let go of Kagome's leg as I blocked the impact with my hands, trying to protect my face.

"UMPH!" I exclaimed as the air was knocked out of me.

And then my rib hurt as hell; this was gonna set back my recovery with a week or two.

"I'm … in the well … ?"

I heard Kagome say and I looked up at her. It seemed like she hadn't registered me as she glanced around, without looking back at me. Currently she was sitting on her knees.

"Hey, Kagome-chan?!" I groaned out as I righted myself.

She gasped as she turned around to look at me.

"Are you alright?" I asked her while I brushed off the dirt on the front of my grey osode.

"Aiko-chan … what are you doing down here?" she asked me in a surprised manner.

I stood up and dusted off my leggings, then I glanced around me.

"I jumped after you and grabbed onto your leg," I said when I looked back at her.

Her attention had rolled over to a rather fleshy, dismembered arm that was discarded a few feet to her left.

"Do you know what that … _thing_ was?" I asked while I walked over to her.

I reached a hand down to her, which she immediately took a hold of. Pulling at my hand, she got up and began to dust herself off of dust and dirt.

"I have no clue," she said as she once more looked over at the fleshy arm, "I guess it wasn't a dream … since you're here…"

I looked at the arm as well, goosebumps crawling up my spine as I shook with disgust over that centipede-monster-lady-thing.

"What a nightmare it would have been if it was!" I exclaimed as I shook my head from side to side, trying to shake off the awful feeling of bugs crawling all over me.

Kagome glanced down at the earthy floor in thought; "Hmm… 'Shikon no Tama' … do you remember what jī-san said about it?" she then asked me as she shifted her focus back up to me.

"I can't remember…" I told her honestly as I glanced down at my feet, arms crossed in front of my chest.

"Anyways," I then said after a short moment of silence, "let's get out of here."

She nodded, then yelled up to the top of the well: "_Sōta_! You there?! … Go get jī-san! _NOW_!"

There was no answer from above.

Shrugging my shoulders, I sighed gently: "Looks like we have to crawl our way out ourselves."

"Hmph! What a chicken he is…" Kagome said as she faced the nearest wall of the well.

I stepped up beside her, then squatted beside her, folding my hands to make a stepping stone for her.

"Here, use me to get higher up, so you can reach that vine and crawl the rest of the way up."

She glanced at me then up at the vine, which was about twelve-fourteen feet up from where we stood.

"Then what about you, how will you reach it?" she asked me, concern in her voice.

"Simple … I climb the wall … no problem …" I glanced up at her from my squatted position; "Don't worry about me…"

I send her one of my famous, carefree smiles that I knew she couldn't say no to.

"Alright then," she said as she stepped up onto my folded hands, her own hands using the wall as support.

"Ready?" I asked as I looked up at her, and she nodded, "… Alright … one, two … and three!"

On the count of three, I slowly straightened myself up, huffing with exertion, my rib protesting.

I've definitely pushed back my healing process now. It was not that Kagome was extremely heavy or anything, but with my bruised rib, it felt like she weighted a ton. I grunted as I pushed her higher up, my hands now reaching my breasts.

"Can you reach it yet?" I asked completely out of breath, as all of my focus was on not dropping Kagome … and the dull throbbing of my bruised rib.

"Almost there," she squeezed out from her lips, as she tried to reach the vine, "just … a little … bit … more!" she exclaimed with much used effort.

Taking a deep breath, I put all of my strength into pushing her higher. Sweat was now trickling down my temples as my hands now reached my clavicle. _Just a bit more, I think, and she'll be able to get a good hold on that vine_. Giving it my last bit of strength, I pushed her up a few more inches – my hands reached my chin.

"I got it!" Kagome exclaimed, and I heaved air deeply into my lungs, trying to forget the pain in my rib.

"I've got a solid grip on it now," she then said, "You can let go of me now!"

"Are… yuhph … surehh?" I huffed out.

"Yeah," and then her foot left my hand as she placed it up against the wall and slowly proceeded to climb her way up to the top of the well.

Immediately after her foot left my hands, my left hand sought out the bruised rib, as I leaned fore over to catch my breath and alleviate some of the pain. I had no idea of how long I stood like that.

"Huh?" I heard Kagome say, though from this far away from her, it was not easy to hear.

"What is it?" I asked as I righted myself up and glanced towards the top of the well.

"There is no shrine," came the low reply from Kagome.

"What?"

_That didn't make sense_ … "Hang on, I'm coming up…"

_Alright, so how do I do this?_

I glanced up at the wall, and like I had estimated before, the vine was approximately thirteen feet up. _Slowly, but steadily, I'm trying to kill myself_ – this would definitely aggravate my bruised rib.

"Here goes," I mumbled to myself as I began to climb the wall.

_Damn, these waraji weren't designed to climb walls_, I thought to myself as I felt my feet slightly slipping against both my tabi and the dirt wall.

_This is not as easy as I thought it would be_, I thought to myself as I was a few feet off the ground. A little further, and I would have the vine as a lifeline to use, so that I could scale the wall easier.

It took me at least five minutes to scale the wall, and my rib was now throbbing excessively, with the feeling that it was trying to squeeze my lung flat. When I had swung myself over the rim of the well, I landed hard on my feet and glanced around.

_This doesn't make sense_, I thought as I glanced around at the now open field, which should have been a shrine. When my eyes landed at Kagome, she was just as baffled as I was.

_Where had the shrine disappeared to?_

"Jī-san! … Kā-san…?" Kagome began to yell.

"Ehm, Kagome-chan …?" I said puzzled, not exactly sure of what to say as this whole scene baffled me.

She ignored me as she kept yelling for ojī-san and her mother. She then began to head off in a random direction.

Hastily I walked after her; I didn't want to be left behind.

"Wait, Kagome-chan … I don't think they're here!" I said loudly to her as I stumbled after her through some bushes.

She glanced back at me, then waited for me until I was right beside her, "But they must be, where else would they be?" she asked me with a concerned glimmer in her brown eyes.

"I don't know, Kagome-chan … but I really don't think they're anywhere near us right now…" My arms were crossed up in front of my breasts, trying to shield myself from my puzzling surroundings.

I really didn't like the feeling in my gut; the feeling that something was completely off about this.

"Let's just keep going," Kagome said as she took a hold of my right hand, "At some point we must find someone, right?" she asked, trying to sound optimistic.

I gave her a nod, then off we were, walking through bushes and tall trees. We walked until we spotted the old Goshinboku.

"Look, it's the Goshinboku," Kagome exclaimed excitedly as she pointed at it, "I'm able to guide us home from there!" she then added ecstatically as she pulled me with her towards the Goshinboku.

But when we got closer, we both stopped up as we saw something really strange. Up in the tree, with vines growing up against it, hung a boy with an arrow in his left shoulder. The boy didn't look to be more than 15 years old, just around Kagome's age, though he did look strange, with his long silvery white hair and his fiery red robes which belonged in the Feudal Era. My gaze shifted up to his face, where I spotted what looked like dog ears on top of his head. Was he a cosplayer?

Kagome let go of my hand and began to walk closer to the strange boy.

"Wait Kagome-chan, what are you doing?" I asked panicky.

She turned her face towards me: "He may know something …" then she faced him once more and carefully began to crawl up the vines that wrapped around the boy and the tree.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Kagome-chan," I said as I nervously walked up to her and tried to grab a hold of her hand.

"Don't be silly, Aiko-chan," she said without looking at me as she stepped up.

She was now right in front of the boy.

"Huh? His ears doesn't look like human ears …" she then said as she raised her hands up to touch them.

"Wait, are you saying that they are attached to him … like permanently?" I asked her exasperatedly as she touched the dog-like ears.

"It feels like it … like they are real dog ears …" she mumbled lowly, but I only heard her because I was so intent on her, nervous for her well-being.

"Oi, what do you do there?!" a masculine voice yelled at us.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the air, like something was cutting at the air itself, then arrows rained around us. I squeaked as one flew right in front of my nose and hit the tree where Kagome was pressing herself up against the weird boy with arrows framing their person. I jumped in my own skin as another one landed right in front of my feet.

"This land is forbidden!" another man yelled.

I glanced up the hill and saw two humanoid shapes standing with bows in their hands.

_I think we are in trouble_, I thought as they approached us.

~oOo~

Kagome and I were both bound with our hands behind our back and with our feet bound together. I was literally fuming as I wiggled in my spot, trying to get free from my bindings. They had taken my sword, _MY DAD'S ŌDACHI!_ And I wanted it back.

People were gathering around us while we were sitting on the ground, bound and not able to get out of our bindings.

"They've come spyin' I wager!" one man said, to which an old lady answered: "Then another battle's a'brewin'?"

Then another lady said: "They're one've them _'Kitsune'_ foxes usin' magic to look a girl, I say!"

This didn't add up…

"Kagome-chan," I whispered over my shoulder to her, " where do you think we are?"

She nodded at me and leaned closer to whisper back: "I think we're in the Sengoku period … Feudalism … 'Warring States' …"

"Oh …"

I definitely didn't expect falling back in time with Kagome …

"Make way! Make Way! … Kaede-sama, the miko, is coming!"

I glanced up, which I think Kagome did as well, at the approaching person. She was an elderly woman, with greyish hair, draped in a miko robe and holding a bow in her right hand. Her face was quite wrinkled, and she had an eyepatch over her right eye.

"Who are you? … Why were you in the Forest of InuYasha?" the elderly woman asked us in a voice only wise elders knew how to speak with.

I glanced at Kagome and she at me … I was pretty sure we were both thinking the same: _weird_!

Then suddenly the miko looked like someone who had just recognized something. She walked over to us and faced Kagome.

"Let me see your face," the miko said as she grabbed Kagome's chin.

I blinked several times at the situation Kagome seemed to be in. I heard the miko mumble something, I couldn't quite catch it, so I leaned in closer to figure out what was happening.

"You're her image, though … my elder sister … Kikyō …" the miko said.

"What?" Kagome whispered, confused.

I myself, sat with a puzzled demeanor … Who was this … _Kikyō?_

~oOo~

"Kikyō-san was the village miko… and its protectress," the miko, Kaede, said while she shortly told us how Kikyō came one day to the village, mortally wounded, which then turned to be her death.

"That was over 50 years ago. She died when I was but a child," she ended up saying as she poured food into three bowls.

I sat right beside Kagome, both of us were still tied with rope. Miko Kaede placed the bowls in front of us. At the smell of the food, my stomach began to grumble, but I couldn't just dig in as I wanted to, considering that my hands were bound behind my back.

Kaede then sat down and glanced at us questioningly: "What's wrong? Not hungry?"

"Um," Kagome said as we stared at each other for a few seconds.

"If we weren't bound, then I at least would be more than happy to dig into that stew," I said as I shifted my attention back to the old miko.

"Oh," the miko said.

She untied us both. When my hands were finally free, I dug greedily into the delicious looking stew in front of me. It was exquisite.

"So, I guess … that we aren't in Tokyo anymore," Kagome said as she too began to eat the stew while she shifted her attention to Kaede.

Kaede looked puzzled at Kagome: "I've never heard the name. Is that the land of your birth?"

Kagome looked slightly embarrassed: "I … uh … guess so."

After a short break, she added: "I was just thinking that we should get going soon…"

Then she glanced down at the bowl of stew in her hand, looking like one who was thinking deeply. I could guess what she was thinking about exactly; how were we going to return to our own time?

Suddenly screams and turmoil was heard from outside Kaede's hut – people were screaming in fear.

"What could it be?" Kaede asked hurriedly as she stood up and walked over to the entrance of her hut.

Kagome and I stood up as well and walked over to Kaede who walked outside. We stepped out as well, when a horse came crashing down from above, its abdomen gone as if someone had taken a great chunk out of it.

Kagome screamed out in frightful surprise, while I looked aggravated by the view in front of us. _What could have done this_?

My unasked question was answered as a man screamed: "RUN! IT'S A MONONOKE!"

I glanced up, only to see the creepy centipede lady glancing over at me and Kagome, a chunk of horse meat dangling from her mouth, which sported an awful set of sharp fangs.

Goosebumps ran up my spine as I was creeped out by the sight of the giant bug-monster.

Then she came rushing towards us, yelling: "**Give me the Shikon no Tama!**"

"The … The Shikon no Tama …?!" Kaede asked in shock.

I didn't shift my gaze away from the oncoming monster, though I did register the short conversation between Kaede and Kagome.

"_You_ have the _Shikon no Tama_?!" Kaede asked.

Kagome responded the old miko: "I … I'm not sure … !"

I chanced a glance towards Kagome, and she looked like one who was debating with herself about something.

"Not spears nor arrows can stop it!" one of the men yelled to Kaede as he came over to us.

Kaede looked up at the creature as she came up with some form of a plan: "If we can lure it to the old well, we might trap it!"

"The dry old well?!" Kagome and I yelled at the same time.

The well Kagome and I came out of.

"In InuYasha's Forest…" Kaede replied as she glanced at Kagome.

"Where's the Forest?" I asked as I looked back at Kaede and Kagome.

"Toward east…" Kaede then responded but was interrupted by Kagome as we shifted our attention to the east.

"Toward that light?! Okay!" Kagome yelled as she then ran in that direction.

I stared at her in shock: "Kagome-chan, wait!" I yelled as I took a single step towards her, but I got pulled back by what Kaede said next.

"That child… did she truly say…? She saw the evil aura of the forest that _no_ earthly being can see!"

I glanced at her in shock: "What did you say?"

My attention quickly shifted back to the forest in the distance; in my eyes, there was no light, but I had a bad feeling about the place, like something evil was dormant in that place. I could see the centipede woman had followed Kagome, floating in the air like a snake moved on land.

"Miko Kaede," one of the men yelled as he pulled a few horses with him.

I glanced at them and figured that they were going after Kagome, and the ugly centipede … _yōkai_. I had to go with them; I had to save Kagome.

"Where is my sword?" I asked hurriedly as I faced Kaede, "Cause I'm coming with you – no way I'm letting that _bug_ hurt Kagome-chan!"

Kaede nodded to me, then looked at the man who had brought us the horses: "Get the girl her sword!"

Swiftly the man ran off, only to appear once more within a minute, with my dad's ōdachi. He gave it to me once he was close enough, and I grabbed a hold of it, looking down at it forlornly. I then quickly strapped it on the back of my obi and jumped onto a horse. The others did the same and almost immediately after, we were all off to InuYasha's Forest.

_Hang on Kagome, I'm coming for you_, I thought as I pressed the mare to ride faster.

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**A/N: I hope it was to your liking. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it. See ya next Sunday.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

**-chan – an endearing honorific, always a suffix. Usually used on children, but also for dear female family members and friends.**

**Ojī-san/Jī-san – grandfather (the first one is the formal, while the second is only acceptable for family members).**

**Okā-san/Kā-san – mother (the first one is the formal, while the second is only acceptable for family members).**

**Otō-san – father (acceptable format for family members only).**

**Ōdachi (nodachi) – a Japanese sword which is bigger than a katana (in the same category as a longsword and claymore).**

**Ōginsairensā – the name of Aiko's ōdachi, meaning "big silver silencer" (****大****銀****サイレンサー****).**

**Tadaima – a phrasing Japanese people uses when they're entering home, just like "I'm home".**

**Osode – a robe with wide sleeve openings.**

**Obi – a sash worn around the waist as a belt.**

**Tabi – socks that are split to facilitate wearing sandals.**

**Waraji – inexpensive sandals woven of straw and worn by travelers.**

**Koshirae – mountings; basically, the stands which holds Japanese swords – always with the sharp side upwards.**

**Saya – the scabbard for the blade, which is usually done in lacquered wood.**

**Goshinboku - the Sacred Tree.**

**-sama – the most formal honorific, always a suffix.**

**Miko – a priestess.**

**Mononoke – a demon.**

**Yōkai – a demon.**


	2. Chapter 2 - Awakened

**A/N: Hello again to you lovely people. First of all, I would like to thank ButlerGirlAnime, SailorSedna052, ines2406, and lette4127 for favoriting this story; it warms my heart to see someone liking what I've written. Also, a thanks to those that has put my story on their Alert-list. In this chapter, you'll see why I've chosen to say it's slightly AU, but you'll have to read to get the spoils.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**But anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading this chapter, and don't forget Mother's Day (at least here where I'm from it's on Sunday the 12th).**

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**Chapter 2 – Awakened**

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_What?! The boy is alive?_

I had arrived at the old Goshinboku before the others, only to see the boy stuck to the tree with an arrow in his shoulder was quite awake and was talking to Kagome.

"… You did it to me," the silver haired boy said, his focus on Kagome.

Kagome seemed distraught, at least, I guessed she was – I only had a view of her back.

But then again; "'Kikyō? … Whoa, whoa, whoa! My name's …" Kagome exclaimed in an annoyed tone, but she was interrupted by the boy.

"She's coming."

And not a second later, the awful centipede yōkai appeared from above them, immerging from the treetop. Arrows with ropes attach to them flew in the air and hit their target: the centipede yōkai, just as the creature had attempted to grab Kagome.

"'Tis time! _DRAW!_"

The men who had shot the arrows began to draw the creature away from Kagome. I could only stand there and watch them do the job. I didn't know what to do … I wanted to save Kagome from the mononoke, but it was a freaking _centipede_ … a _BUG_!

"I'm saved," Kagome said in relief.

But I had a feeling that it wasn't so easy to overcome the centipede. As the men pulled at the ropes attached to the yōkai, the boy and Kagome began to argue.

"Really, Kikyō … I'm disappointed …" the boy said as he closed his eyes.

He was clearly trying to goad Kagome, and she met his taunting: "Listen, you … I don't know who this 'Kikyō' is, except that she's _not_ me!"

This clearly annoyed the boy to no end as he almost yelled at her: "Do you expect me to believe that I wouldn't know the _stench_ of the girl who …"

Something seemed to break his train of thought, but I didn't know what exactly, but then he stated: "You're … _not_ her …!"

"Get it now?" Kagome asked him, clearly pissed off by his false statement of her being Kikyō; "My name's Kagome!" and then she spelled it out for him: "Ka… Go… Me!"

If it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation we were in, I would have laughed at those two.

"I'm a fool. After all, Kikyō looked intelligent … and pretty," the boy then added, clearly wanting to annoy the hell out of Kagome.

While the two of them had argued, the men had tried to subdue the yōkai, but now the centipede was hell-bend on getting a hold of Kagome; she pulled at the arrows, resulting in the men holding the ropes attached to said arrows were flung into the air towards the centipede yōkai, Kagome and the weird boy. Then she grabbed a hold of Kagome.

"Kagome!" I yelled and then, without thinking, I drew Ōginsairensā.

While the centipede yōkai began to pull Kagome towards itself, Kagome grabbed a hold of the boy's silvery front locks, using him as an anchor for not being drawn closer to the centipede.

"_LET… ME… GO!_" Kagome yelled as she held tightly onto the boy's hair.

"_YOU_ LET _ME_ GO!" the boy then yelled, as his head was pulled away from the tree.

I had to do something; distract the mononoke. But boy, how I didn't want to get near that _thing_. Then again, Kagome needed my help, so I ran towards the yōkai. I jumped up on its long spiny body and began to run up towards the yōkai's upper body.

_I need to cut its arms off, so that the mononoke doesn't have a hold on Kagome!_

It was not as easy to run up the centipede's spine as I had hoped for, because the yōkai began to wiggle its lower body, clearly trying to toss me off of its body.

"_**This body … is so weak …**_" the centipede yōkai exclaimed as if she was preparing to do something vile, "_**I will devour you whole … Shikon no Tama and all…**_"

"NO!" I exclaimed, just at the same time that Kagome did it.

_Why is this thing so wiggly? Can't it just stay still, so that I can cut its arms off and save Kagome?_

The mononoke raised its upper body, preparing itself to launch after Kagome. This motion resulted in me having to grab onto it to not be thrown off of its body. My left hand caught a hold on one of its spiny carapaces, with the rest of my body dangling from its monstrous body. Ōginsairensā was clutched tightly within my right hand.

"_GET AWAY!_" Kagome yelled at the centipede.

I couldn't see what was happening except for a strange pinkish light. The centipede reared back, and I lost my hold on its carapace. I landed hard on my right side on the grassy ground. My ribs began to throb immensely; I had managed to antagonize not only my previously bruised rib, but also a few of its neighboring ribs. The air in my lungs were forced out upon the impact. I grunted with the pain I felt, and my eyes closed for a short moment. When I opened them again, I saw the humanoid arms of the monster lying around Kagome, who was sitting on the grassy ground as well, looking confusedly around her at the dismembered arms.

_Did she make the arms fall off?_ I thought to myself.

"_**Vile thing!**_" the mononoke yelled at Kagome.

Then it attacked with a purpose. Striking after Kagome's waist on her left side, it bit down with its long fangs through Kagome's school uniform. Blood sprayed around them, indicating that the centipede had taken a piece out of Kagome.

"KAGOME!" I screamed as I forced myself up from the ground, holding my sword in both of my hands, trying to figure out how to get rid of the yōkai.

Then the centipede, while having a hold on Kagome's waist with its mouth, tossed Kagome up into the air, letting go as soon as it had enough momentum on Kagome. From Kagome there flew a small pink orb, no bigger than the size of a golf ball. We all stared at the small object as it fell down to the ground, within reach from Kagome, who fell hard to the ground as well.

I didn't register what the men behind me said, but I registered miko Kaede's words clearly.

"The Shikon Jewel!"

_Wait, so the Jewel was inside of Kagome's body this whole time?_

I stared in disbelief at Kagome and the Jewel.

"_**I knew, I knew, I knew you were hiding it!**_" the centipede yōkai screeched at Kagome.

Then the boy yelled: "That Jewel is _mine!_" followed shortly by: "Give it to me!"

But before Kagome could get a hold of the Jewel, the yōkai wrapped its body around Kagome, trapping her up against the boy.

"_**Heh, heh, heh, heh…**_" the mononoke snickered.

It had now turned its focus on the boy: "_**'InuYasha who seeks the Shikon Jewel…' I have heard of a hanyō by such a name … at last we meet…**_"

The boy, _InuYasha_…? scoffed at the yōkai's comment: "Don't insult me, Mistress Centipede. If I'd wanted, our meeting would've been very short… and your last."

Then to my surprise, Kagome spoke up: "Hey, you _talk_ pretty big. But can you actually _do_ anything _except_ talk?!"

Damn … Kagome could sometimes really antagonize people. I glanced down and saw the Shikon Jewel resting prettily on the ground. I needed to do something!

My feet moved swiftly against the ground, leading me over to the Jewel, which I quickly picked up while the weird three-way conversation proceeded. The Jewel felt warm against the palm of my hand and shone beautifully. Something in me seemed to stir with the presence of the Jewel, but I quickly pushed the feeling aside and focused on the conversation that proceeded.

"_**You cannot move, can you, hanyō boy? That's quite a spell you're under**_," the centipede said to InuYasha in a taunting manner.

I slowly moved away from the centipede, not turning my back towards it.

"_**All you can do now … is watch!**_" the mononoke said as it turned down to where it last had seen the Jewel, only to see that it wasn't there anymore.

"_You_ are not getting _this_!" I yelled at the centipede yōkai.

I was standing at most twelve feet away from it, showing it the Shikon Jewel in my left hand, before I clenched my hand around it and grabbed a hold of my sword with both of my hands. Determination vibrated in my whole body, as I scowled at the mononoke, trying my hardest to not let fear take over my body.

"_**How DARE you!**_" it screeched at me as it charged me.

I readied my stance, letting Ōginsairensā's sharp side face the yōkai as it came upon me. With its head, the yōkai rammed into my blade. It only managed to push me a few feet backwards; the ground being uprooted by my solid-planted feet. Dust whirled around my feet, raising up to over my knees. But I stood fast against her. She retracted and charged again, ramming into my sword once more. More earth was uprooted, and dust was billowing as she pushed me further back.

"AIKO!" I heard Kagome yell panicky, but I didn't let my focus swift away from the centipede in front of me.

It kept retracting and charging against me, only meeting my sword. It didn't seem like even the smallest scratch came upon its face, though it kept charging the sharp side of my silver blade. But my sword was strong; it could hold against its attack without a problem. It kept pushing me back, and suddenly I felt the bark of a solid tree against my back as the yōkai retracted once more. Before I had time to move away from the tight spot I had ended up in, the giant centipede charged me once more, forcing me hard up against the sharp bark of the tree. My sword was pushed up against the upper part of my body, with the dull side of Ōginsairensā pressing forcefully up against my right shoulder, which made the bones in my shoulder protest against the heavy force that they received.

The centipede retracted again so quickly that I had no way to react at its swiftness as it charged my blade again. There was so much power in its charge that the bark and the tree began to splinter powerfully. Bark and wood flew past me, with some of the wood and bark digging through my osode and into the skin of my back.

I screamed out in agony, my eyes closing for a second.

"_**I WILL GET THE SHIKON JEWEL!**_" the centipede yōkai screeched at me as it once more retracted.

I wouldn't be able to take another charge from her, not without the splintered wood of the tree piercing me, and probably kill me if a big wooden splint would enter one of my vital organs.

I opened my eyes, narrowing them at the mononoke as I sneered: "_Not without killing me first!_"

It laughed at me as it once more charged me. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the attack.

Except, it didn't come.

I took a chance and opened my right eye, only to see the centipede yōkai in pieces on the ground. The hanyō, InuYasha, stood in front of me with a smug look on his face.

"Now, be a good little girl and hand it over … unless you'd rather feel the caress of my claws," InuYasha said threateningly while he clenched and unclenched his right hand, showing off the sharp claws on his hand.

"What?!" I exclaimed in surprise, my brows disappearing under the bangs of my dark blond hair.

He sniggered sinisterly at me: "I'll make it simple. If you want to live … you'll hand me the _Jewel_!"

Miko Kaede then yelled up: "No, child! You must not let him have it!"

I swiftly shifted my gaze over to Kaede, spotting Kagome looking worriedly at me, then back to the menacing presence of the hanyō in front of me.

I sighed out exasperatedly: "I appreciate you getting rid of the centipede, but I can't hand over the Jewel to you!"

He was clearly not pleased with my response, because the next thing he did was slashing his right hand after me.

"You _will_ hand me the _Jewel_!" he yelled while he cut his hand at me.

I somehow managed to duck down before he slashed me. Making a tumble out of the way, the damaged tree I had been up against was now cut in half.

"Next time … I'll cut you in half…" he said angrily as he faced me once more.

_Shit!_ I thought, cursing internally at my predicament. I began to run away as fast as I could from the murderous hanyō. He was hot on my heels; I could literally feel his presence right behind me. In the last second, I turned towards him, my sword in front of me as a protective shield as he struck against me. His claws raked against the silver blade in my hands, sparks flying from the contact.

"You will die!" he yelled at me as he swiped at me with his left hand.

I couldn't parry him in time, so I tried to dodge his attack. But he was faster than I had anticipated. His claws raked down my right shoulder, blood flowing from the cut he made. I made a tumble to my left, groaning as I grabbed a hold of my injured shoulder with my left hand. The blood gushed down in between my fingers.

"You're _mine_!" he sneered at me as he prepared for another attack against me.

I couldn't do a thing in my condition. I stared at him frightened as he began to swing his right clawed hand against me.

But he stopped up so suddenly, when beads appeared around his throat, forming a necklace of dark purple beads and ivory colored claw-like beads. He stopped up for a moment to glance down at the new jewelry around his neck. This gave me enough time to try to outrun him once more. His short moment of befuddlement was quickly replaced with greed for the Jewel in my hand. He ran after me once more, trying to kill me.

"Kagome! Utter a subduing spell!" Kaede yelled.

I only registered it because it rung around the small clearing we were in, but my focus was solemnly on the hanyō on my heels. I could feel an upcoming attack from him and turned around as he swiped down with his claws at me. My parry wasn't as strong as before, with only my right hand on the tsuka. He managed to press the blade down against my injured shoulder, forcing me down onto my back. I screamed out in pain as he swiftly made attacks after attacks, keeping me down on my back, but not managing to swipe me with his deadly claws. He was relentless.

Suddenly he stepped back a bit, giving me just enough time to roll away from under him.

Then I heard Kagome yell from the top of her lungs: "SIT!"

Right next to me, InuYasha fell face first down to the ground with so much force that a mere human would have cracked their skull. I was baffled.

"… He was subdued?!" a man said befuddled over what had just occurred.

I heard Kagome run over towards us. Slowly, I sat up and glanced over at the hanyō who had just gotten up and was grasping at the beads around his neck.

"What … What in all the hells…?!" he yelled angrily as he tried to take off the beads but was unable to.

Kagome was kneeling right beside me as Kaede walked over to where I was as well. Her attention was on InuYasha.

"Spare your strength, InuYasha. Not all your power will lift those prayer-beads from your neck," she said in a patient tone.

"You," InuYasha said in despise, "You withered crone!"

Kaede then said gently to Kagome: "Do your stuff."

Kagome glanced up at the charging hanyō when she uttered: "_Sit_ boy!"

Once more, with the utterance of Kagome's command, InuYasha kissed the ground. I could only grimace at the plausible pain I would have felt if it was me that it happened to.

"You may all return to the village. The show is over," Kaede said to the men behind her.

I winced as Kagome helped me up from the ground, my eyes only on InuYasha, as he was still lying face first on the ground.

~oOo~

Kagome and I had returned to the village with the rest of them. We had shared the horse that I had borrowed to get to the Goshinboku. Kagome had sat in front of me, with me holding the reins in my left hand while my right hand had rested against my dirty black leggings.

It was a painful ride, but I had managed not to wince or utter my pain a single time. I didn't want to worry Kagome more than she probably already was.

We were sitting in Kaede's hut once more, and Kaede was tending to the wound on Kagome's waist – I had insisted that Kagome was the one to be taken care of first, though Kaede meant that it was clearly me that needed tending to first.

"These healing herbs should take care of this…" Kaede said patiently as she tended to Kagome's wound.

"But what a place we're left in, eh? Now that the Shikon Jewel has appeared again in this world…" Kaede continued saying as Kagome was wincing with the sting of the herbs.

I was resting up against the wall opposite the entrance to the hut, Ōginsairensā resting upon my lap and my eyes resting lazily on InuYasha, who was lying on his side with his back towards us.

"… The evil beings who desire its power will soon be flocking here," Kaede continued her little tale.

I was listening with half an ear, trying to ignore the pain that wrecked my body.

Apparently, Kagome had been listening intently to her story, as she asked Kaede: "Um … you mean … like monsters …?"

Patiently, Kaede responded: "Not _only_ monsters. But also, men … who are sometimes worse. In this era of war and chaos, the powers of the Shikon no Tama can make any ambition a reality."

Kagome righted her school shirt down over the bandaged wound on her waist as her attention shifted over to InuYasha: "You … why do _you_ want the Jewel?"

InuYasha didn't respond her, so she continued to say: "You're strong. Why do you need more power?"

Again, InuYasha didn't respond, but Kaede did: "He's only half a yōkai…"

This pissed off InuYasha as he smashed his fist into the floor, bursting the wooden floor under it.

"Old hag – you've been acting awfully familiar since we met! Do you think you know me?" he sneered at the miko.

I righted myself up, a hand on my sword, ready to draw it and protect Kagome, should danger come her way. My ribs protested against my motion, which was only visible if you saw my pained grimace; I didn't whimper over my wounds.

"Then you really don't know…? You don't know Kaede; the little sister of the woman who enchanted you?" Kaede asked in a patient voice.

"Kaede?" InuYasha asked in a slow manner.

Kaede continued: "It's been fifty years, and some of us grow older."

I mentally snickered over her dry humor, but I was still focused on the hanyō in our presence. Not really sure of him, if he would attack or not.

"You were that little whelp?" InuYasha asked thoughtful, then he leaned a bit back, "Then Kikyō must be even more withered than you!"

I leaned back against the wall, but my hand was still resting on my sword.

"What a bore you mortals are!" InuYasha said in a haughty voice as he closed his eyes.

With a serious demeanor, Kaede then said: "My elder sister … is dead. The same day she put the spell on you."

It seemed to take InuYasha by surprise at first but then he turned haughty: "Ho… is that so? The little witch kicked it, eh? Well …" he then turned back to rest on his side with his back towards us: "Nice to hear some good news."

I frowned at his words; how could he be so insensitive?

"InuYasha …" Kaede spoke yet again, "I wouldn't start celebrating just yet. There is the matter of reincarnation. Don't you agree … Kagome-chan?"

I glanced from the old miko and over to Kagome, who seemed taken by surprise with Kaede's words. There seemed to be a moment of deep thinking then a resolute clarification washed over Kagome as if she agreed to what Kaede had said.

Kagome then stood up and began to walk out of Kaede's hut.

"Where are you going?" I said to Kagome as I painfully got up as well.

She turned towards me: "I need some air."

I began to follow after her, but Kaede stopped me from following my dearest friend: "You are staying here until I have tended to your wounds, young one."

I glared down at her as I spotted InuYasha get up as well, exiting Kaede's hut.

"I need to keep an eye on Kagome-chan! I don't trust _that_ dude!" I said as I pointed to the back of InuYasha.

I saw InuYasha stop up for a moment glancing shortly over his shoulder at me. His golden eyes were unreadable as he looked at me for a few seconds before he exited the hut.

"Don't worry, InuYasha can't hurt Kagome-chan. Not while the prayer-beads rest against his neck."

Kaede rested a hand on my left shoulder, and I turned my worried gaze to the old woman in front of me. Her dark eye looked into my spring-like green eyes with understanding.

"Do not worry about Kagome-chan," Kaede said gently, before she spoke to me with her wise old-woman's voice: "Now, sit down so that I can take care of your wounds as well."

I glanced back at the entrance, then sighed defeatedly. Sitting down with my back towards her, I placed Ōginsairensā honorably on the floor in front of me. Then I unwrapped the obi and took off my grey osode, revealing my would-be pale back to her.

A soft gasp escaped the old miko's lips as she took in the sight of my back. I was sure that it wasn't a pretty sight, with the newly added cuts from the splintered tree added to the old scars on my back. I was pretty sure that it was a gruesome sight.

Soon though, I felt her gentle yet rough hands on my back, plucking out any remaining splinters in my wounded back. I winced when she pulled out a bigger piece, which was bored into my upper back, a few inches from my spine. She hushed at me, trying to soothe me with her soft voice.

Kaede then spoke in a hushed voice: "I didn't get your name, child, I know Kagome-chan's, but somehow yours has eluded me…"

I glanced at her over my right shoulder, spotting the long gashes from InuYasha's claws: "It's Aiko…" I said in a low voice as I shifted my gaze back towards the wall, though I didn't really look at the wall.

"That's a pretty name," Kaede said as she continued to pluck out the splinters still embedded in my back.

"Hn…" I said, not really feeling talkative.

My mind was on how bad my back might look, and the scratchy pain in the newly made wounds. I knew better than to scratch the wounds, though the desire to do so was really strong.

"I am curious…" Kaede then said, "You came here with Kagome-chan…?"

I knew what she was trying to do; distract me from the sting of my wounds, and I bit into the apple, which was her intentions.

"Yes," I whispered.

"How come your outfit is not like Kagome-chan's, but more like our type of clothing?"

"Simple, I changed clothes before we came here," was my curt reply.

"You know what I was implying," came Kaede's patient reply.

I sighed breathlessly, then I felt Kaede wash the dried up blood off of my back, mindful of the wounds.

"It's more comfortable than our school uniform," I said, then added quickly in an afterthought, "the clothes that Kagome-chan's wearing.

I fell silent again as I internally winced; the wounds stung when Kaede smeared an herbal ointment into them.

"I see," the old miko said gently while she continued to smear the herbal ointment into my wounds.

Silence fell between us. Kaede then began to wrap bandages around my wounded back, though she quickly stopped up.

"Your ribs are bruised," she stated silently.

I glanced down at my lap: "They'll heal, just like the rest of my body…"

She didn't reply as she wrapped the bandage around my upper body, where the splinter wounds were residing. The bandage also covered up my breasts in the process.

When she was done wrapping the bandage around my upper body, she spoke again: "I need to see your shoulder as well."

I shuffled in my seat as I turned ninety degrees to my right, letting my right shoulder face her. Her dark eyes were serious as she took in the degree of my injuries of my shoulder. I glanced down at them as well, spotting the four long gashes of InuYasha's claws, which ran from my upper part of the shoulder and down to my elbow. My shoulder, close to the clavicle, was purple from where my sword had been pressed up against my shoulder.

_Thank you, you stupid centipede yōkai!_ I thought darkly as I glanced away and down at my lap once more.

Kaede took a clean rag and began to wash the gashes on my upper arm. I huffed out a quietened breath of pain as it stung when she washed the wounds.

"You were quite skilled with your sword; not many women know how to wield such a great weapon as an ōdachi… Who've taught you this skill?" Kaede asked me in her wise old-woman's voice.

I glanced back at her, silently appreciating the praise she was giving me.

"My otō-san…" I said quietly.

My green eyes shifted over to the sword next to me, and I watched it with sad eyes. Its black saya and silver tsuba was glinting softly with the illumination from the fire in front of me. The dark red of the samegawa of the tsuka almost blended in with the black silk-wrapping of the tsuka-ito. It was a beautiful sword, which brought back cherished memories of my father.

"It was his sword," I said forlornly.

"Does it have a name?" she asked me gently.

I nodded, "Ōginsairensā … it was passed down from first-born to first-born, which is how it ended with me…"

I didn't know why I told her all of this, but it felt nice to talk about it with someone who didn't know him. I wasn't really able to talk about my father with Kagome or the rest of her family, without one of us started crying with the thought of him gone.

"I see," Kaede then said, probably sensing that I wasn't up for more talking.

She smeared the herbal ointment on the gashes, then proceeded to wrap bandages around them.

When she was done, she stood up, as did I, and I glanced down at the ruined osode.

"Kaede-sama…" I asked while I held my gaze down at the osode, "do you have an osode, or something similar that I can borrow?"

"I might have a spare hakui …" Kaede said while she walked away from me.

Once she returned with a white hakui in hand, I thanked her and donned it. The hakui reached down to the middle of my thighs. I grabbed my black obi and wrapped it around my waist, securing the hakui in its place. Then I picked up my father's sword with my left hand.

I faced towards the door, just as Kagome re-entered the hut with InuYasha on her heels.

"I better get started on dinner," Kaede said as she sauntered out of her hut, leaving InuYasha with Kagome and me.

Kagome walked over to me, leaving InuYasha at the entrance.

She placed a gentle hand upon my left arm and asked me: "How are you holding up?"

I smiled while placing my right hand upon her hand on my arm, gently circling a thump on top of it.

"I'm fine, don't worry about me … how are you?"

We looked into each other's eyes, brown meeting green, with hers showing concern for my well-being.

She gave me half a smile, "I could've been better…" she then let go of my arm and glanced down, "I miss them."

I knew that she meant her family, and it was understandable. Her family was the epitome of a happy and caring family. And though I wasn't bound to them by blood, I saw them as my family as well.

"I miss them too," I said caringly, taking a gentle hold of her hand.

"Keh, so nauseating," InuYasha scuffed from beside the entrance.

My grip tightened around my sword and I glared annoyedly over at the hanyō by the door.

"Don't give me that crap," I sneered at him, as I stared daggers at him.

He stared back with his ominous golden eyes, his gaze somewhat cold, but he didn't reply to my little outburst other than huffing out a gentle breath of air. He averted his eyes from me.

"We'll find a way home, Aiko-chan," Kagome said gently, pulling my attention back to her.

I gave her a simple nod, just as miko Kaede entered the hut once more with firewood gathered in her arms.

~oOo~

Night had fallen and Kaede and Kagome were sleeping in their futon, while I gently rested up against the wall of Kaede's hut. My eyes were closed, but I didn't feel tired enough to lie down. Besides, I was nervous for Kagome. I still didn't trust the hanyō. Currently, he was residing outside Kaede's hut, but I didn't feel safe enough to fall asleep, like Kagome and Kaede apparently did. I felt an evil presence as sinister caws came from the opening up on my right. Before I could open my eyes and look at it, something that sounded like a pebble hit the window frame, and probably scared it off. The sinister energy I had felt grew more distant, until it disappeared. Suddenly, I felt more than exhausted, as the events of the last day and a half caught up to me. I quickly shuffled over to the futon that Kaede had prepared for me. Without removing the blanket that rested on top of it, I dumped myself on my stomach and fell into a disturbed sleep.

~oOo~

The next day, Kagome and I were walking back to the well, which had been our arrival point to this time period. We hoped that maybe it could somehow bring us back.

Suddenly, there was an ambush. Bandits grabbed a hold of Kagome.

"Kagome-chan!" I yelled, drawing out Ōginsairensā.

But before I could defend my friend, someone knocked the hilt of their weapon to the back of my head. Pain sprouted within my skull from the attack, and I fell to the ground. My vision was blurry as I saw unrecognizable shapes drag Kagome off to somewhere. Another knock made my surroundings black, and I fell unconscious.

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**A/N: I hope it was to your liking. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it. See you guys next Sunday.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Hanyō**_** – a half demon.**

_**Tsuba**_** – the hand guard of a Japanese sword.**

_**Tsuka**_** – the hilt/handle.**

_**Samegawa**_** – the skin/leather wrapping of the **_**tsuka**_**.**

_**Tsuka-ito**_** – the wrap of the **_**tsuka**_**, traditionally of silk.**

_**Hakui**_** – a full-length white robe associated with practitioners of Shinto.**


	3. Chapter 3 - A Jewel in Pieces

**A/N: Hello again my lovely people. First of all, I would like to thank Hanyouprincess3, annri, crazy4manga, mara41496, Mizzimus, Therjj, sianfaythe, Pikacool 2, Mister Moustache, and xXYuseiXAkikoXx for favoriting this story; welcome to the fave-fam you guys. Also, a thanks to those who've put this story on their Alert-list. And last of all, a special thanks to Emzy2k11 for leaving the first review on this story; thank you for the praise.**

**A reminder for you all: new chapters will be uploaded each Sunday, though I don't upload it at a specific time of the day. Just know that it will be uploaded in between 00:00 am and 11:59 pm. That's the best I can do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Without further ado, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 3 – A Jewel in Pieces**

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I didn't know how much time there passed by, but when I came to myself, I panicked.

"Kagome-chan?!" I whispered faintly to myself as I got up from the ground.

_Where is she?_ I asked myself, then it came back to me: she had been kidnapped, by bandits.

"Damnit!" I exclaimed to myself as I ran back to the village.

Within five minutes, I had reached the rice fields. People were walking around and taking care of the fields.

I stopped up, panicky as I glanced around, thinking: _Where could they have taken her?_

Not a second after, I heard the scream of a woman.

"_My Baaa~by…!_" followed by the scream of a small boy.

"Fuck!" I cursed to myself, as I ran towards the sounds.

Then I spotted a large bird-like creature, with an ominous presence that seemed familiar. It was like I had felt it before. The bird-creature was holding a boy who wasn't older than five.

I quickly followed after it, then I spotted InuYasha. He had Kagome on his back, and she was sporting a bow and a quiver with arrows on her back.

"Kagome-chan!" I yelled as I ran as fast I could after them.

She glanced over her shoulder and spotted me: "Aiko-chan!" she exclaimed, happy to see me.

But that happiness was short-lived as the little boy wailed with fear. The creature had a tight hold on the boy's arm.

I could hear the mumbled voices of InuYasha and Kagome talking hastily to each other, but I couldn't discern what exactly they were saying.

Suddenly, InuYasha jumped up in the air, attacking the strange bird-creature.

"_No_, idiot! Save the _boy_ first!" Kagome yelled, when she jumped after the boy, whom had been released from the creature's hold when InuYasha attacked it.

"Shit!" I breathed out through clenched teeth as I ran faster, trying to catch the falling form of Kagome and the little boy.

"You fool! What do you think you're …" InuYasha yelled at Kagome, but quickly interrupted himself as the bird-creature tried to attack Kagome and the boy, while they were falling.

"Yōkai, begone!" InuYasha yelled with rage as he slashed the creature to bits with his sharp claws.

Just before Kagome landed on the hard ground, I jumped and turned in the air so that I was facing the falling Kagome. My arms were reaching out to secure Kagome in my arms. And then she landed in my arms, forcing me with her gravity-induced weight down unto the ground.

"GAH!" I exclaimed as the rocky earth stuck into my wounded back.

_Pain!_ was all I could think of as both my back and ribs were almost killing me with excruciating pain.

"Aiko-chan!" Kagome squeaked out surprised as she had landed more softly, I guessed, than what she had first anticipated.

When I had forced the pain far into the back of my mind, ignoring it to the best degree I could, I muttered breathlessly: "You're gonna be the death of me, Kagome-chan…"

I didn't move, sure that Kagome was safe for the moment.

On top of my stomach, where Kagome had landed, she was comforting the little boy, showing off her maternal skills: "It's okay, honey, you're safe now."

The boy was crying from the top of his lungs, so scared of the whole ordeal … I could only imagine it. I held my eyes closed, even when InuYasha yelled at Kagome.

"_Girl!_ Do you see the _Jewel_?!"

_Huh?!_ I thought – _did that weird creature get a hold of the Shikon Jewel?_

Opening my eyes, I saw that it was in the process of regenerating itself, small pieces of is black feathery flesh flew towards the creature.

The mother of the boy came rushing over to Kagome, who gave the kid back to the mother without any fuss. Then Kagome got off of me, and I sat up slightly and glanced towards the bird-creature and Kagome, who was right in front of me.

"I see it! Under its wing!" Kagome exclaimed.

At her response, InuYasha jumped up and tried so swipe it with his claws, only to destroy its tail once more, though it began to regenerate itself again.

"Curse the thing!" InuYasha uttered in annoyance.

Kagome ran up to him, though he was only a few feet away from where I was. I wanted to get up, but, boy, how my body hurt after I caught Kagome from falling.

InuYasha then said annoyedly to Kagome: "It'll go on flying … until its hell-born corpse absorbs the whole blasted _Jewel_!"

The next thing I saw from my incapacitated position was Kagome pulling out the scarf of her school uniform and tying something to one of her arrows. Then she strung said arrow to her bow and took aim against the bird-creature.

But I couldn't see if she would be able to hit it; it had flown so far away from where we were.

"This time …" I heard her opportunistically utterance.

The people behind me were murmuring about Kagome's weird tenacity, while InuYasha was only able to throw insults at her: "You don't have a chance, girl … not as feeble with the bow as _you_ are…"

Kagome then shouted with such a passion that I was completely taken off-guard: "IT WILL _HIT_!"

Then she released the arrow and it flew with an immense speed towards the bird-creature. Before the arrow had flown too far, I was able to spot the leg of the creature that had been bound to the creature.

_That's my smart girl_, I thought happily.

With the leg bound to the arrow, it wouldn't miss because of the blasted creature's regenerative abilities it had received from the Shikon Jewel.

Then the arrow hit, and the creature was enveloped in a pinkish light. And it seemed like the pinkish light was disintegrating the creature, completely obliterating it.

"She… She struck it!" one of the villagers that was standing behind my sitting form was exclaiming surprised.

Then the pinkish light that had enveloped the creature intensified and suddenly small specks of the pinkish light flew in every direction. I could feel deep inside me that this wasn't good.

"Huh…?!" Kagome uttered quietly in her surprise of the new occurrence.

A little further off in the distance, not far from where we were, one of the small specks fell down to the ground, somewhere amongst the eastbound forest.

"Get up," InuYasha uttered in a hurried fashion to Kagome.

Kagome jumped up on his back, and before I could protest at her running off with the hanyō, they were off and out of reach. I cursed inwardly at myself as I slowly got up.

_Damn, my body hurts like hell_.

I could only hope that InuYasha would be able to protect Kagome from the dangers that lurked beyond. Because as soon as I had gotten up, I felt lightheaded and fell down to my hands and knees, not able to support myself.

A man from the village helped me up and supported me as we headed back to the village. He led me all the way to Kaede's hut. Once I had reached the entrance, Kaede came out and helped me inside and over to the futon I had used the night before. I sighed with the acheful pain I felt when I laid down on my back, so I shuffled over to my front, and dug my head into the small pillow there was there.

Kaede kneeled down beside me, laying a gentle hand upon my left shoulder and said: "Rest Aiko-chan."

And that is exactly what I did.

~oOo~

Night had fallen over the little village when Kagome and InuYasha returned, which, reluctantly, woke me up. I groaned tiredly from the futon and glanced over at them as Kagome presented a small shard to Kaede. Apparently, it was a shard of the Shikon Jewel.

"HOW CAN THIS _BE_?!" InuYasha howled in his frustration.

"Urgh, quit howling, InuYasha," I groaned from my futon as I turned my head towards them, raising my upper body with the help of my elbows.

Only so that I appeared more engaged in the conversation that was happening.

InuYasha then uttered in annoyance, though this time not howling: "The _Jewel_! What happened to the blasted _Jewel_?!"

Kaede was able to give him, and the rest of us, an answer: "When Kagome-chan shot her magic arrow, it shattered not only the demon, but the Shikon no Tama within it."

_Wow, Kagome … you've really done it this time_, I thought as I glared tiredly at her.

Kaede continued on: "It might have split into ten pieces, or into a hundred … but now they are scattered everywhere. If a single sliver should fall into the hands of an evil spirit, the result might be as ill as if that spirit had devoured the entire Jewel!"

I frowned at Kaede's words, because it sounded really, really bad… we didn't want nor needed another incident like the centipede yōkai or the bird-creature … which was probably a yōkai as well, now that I thought of it.

"Listen, then. Kagome-chan … Aiko-chan … InuYasha …"

I raised my head up further, showing the old miko that I was listening intently to what she had to say.

"You must gather the shards of the Shikon no Tama and restore it to its original form. _Together_."

Kagome looked quizzically at Kaede while she said: "You mean … ?"

But InuYasha interrupted her: "HA! Are you sure, Kaede?" _I'm_ one of those 'evil spirits' after the Jewel, remember?"

Kaede closed her eyes and sighed silently: "For now … there's no other choice."

My eyes shifted over to Kagome; she looked distraught. I was pretty sure that all she wanted was to get back home to her family … me too. I felt like I had been getting more injuries over these last two days than I had within a few weeks of being home.

_Home._

I must admit though that I didn't like the aspect of getting _home_, home… I hated my home.

~oOo~

I woke up early the next day. Kagome was still sleeping on her futon, so I grabbed the polishing kit one of the men had given to me, through miko Kaede, so that I could take care of my ōdachi. And it did really need the maintenance – it had been more than two weeks since I had taken care of it, and I had used it in literal combat. First the centipede yōkai, and then against the hanyō InuYasha. While I polished the silvery blade of my sword, I began to think about how to go forth from here. As Kaede had said, we needed to collect the Shikon Jewel shards, but I didn't look forward to doing it in the company of InuYasha… though I had to admit that I couldn't protect Kagome fairly as good as he apparently was able to. I felt inadequate with the thought of not being the better protector. And it was my responsibility to take care of Kagome. After all, I was the more capable of the two of us, so I felt that the responsibility of making sure that she got home safely was on my shoulders. I closed my green eyes for a moment then let my left hand run through my short dark blond hair, sighing tiredly at the curriculum we were in. We – Kagome and I … and InuYasha – had the duty of gathering the shards, but I could feel that Kagome most of all wanted to get back home. A heartfelt sigh left me as I continued to polish my sword, which I did for the next half an hour, until I was done. And just in time, because Kagome was stirring in her futon, slowly waking up.

"Good morning, Kagome-chan," I gently said as I sheathed my blade and got up and over to her.

She turned in her futon until she was facing me.

"Morning, Aiko-chan," she said in between a yawn.

_Wow, she must be really exhausted_, I thought at the sight of her droopy brown eyes and tired smile.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her as I sat down next to her futon facing her.

She stretched with another mighty yawn, before she sat up, the blanket falling down to her waist.

"Just tired," she sighed out, then she breathed in deeply through her nose.

Her nose scrunched up as if an unpleasant smell reached her nose.

"Dear god, I need a bath!" she exclaimed as she put her hands up to her nose, pinching it closed with her fingers.

I took a whiff of the air, and my own facial expression turned into one of dislike.

_Damn, we smell like old sweat_, I thought as I too pinched my nose.

To my right, Kaede shuffled in her futon, before she too sat up and glanced at the two of us.

"Good morning Kagome-chan … Aiko-chan," she said as she got up from her futon, rolling it into a roll and placed it up against the wall.

"Morning Kaede-sama … can you tell us where we might be able to take a bath?" I asked her as I got up and moved over to the futon I had used.

Rolling it into a roll, like Kaede had done, I placed the futon beside hers, Kagome coming up shortly after with her own rolled up futon.

"Of course, I can …" Kaede said patiently as she stepped out of her hut.

Kagome and I followed after her.

~oOo~

"This~ is~ free~zing…" Kagome clattered through clenched teeth as she stood in the cold water, trying to fight off the coldness of it.

I too was clattering my teeth, cause damn the water was icy.

"Come out, you two … don't force yourselves," Kaede said from the small rocky shoreline of the lake.

"No way! I'm covered in blood 'n mud 'n _yōkai-slime_ …" Kagome said passionately over her shoulder to Kaede, "and I can't stand it anymore!"

She then dug under the surface, swimming under the waterline. I had already done so and was slowly making my way to the rocky shoreline. As I reached the shoreline where Kaede was sitting near a fire, I walked over to her just as Kagome breached the water's surface behind me. Then I felt a presence that I had connected to be InuYasha's presence … or aura … or something alike. I grabbed the clean hakui that Kaede had left for me and donned it on my still wet body; there was another one for Kagome too when she was done with her bath.

"_SIT BOY!_" Kagome suddenly yelled.

Right behind me, InuYasha landed with a heavy thud, face kissing the rocky surface. I raised an eyebrow at him, not really caring since I had already covered myself with the white hakui. He grabbed a hold of the beads around his neck and scowled at the prayer-beads.

"I knew you were an _animal_, but … but _this_…!" Kagome exclaimed annoyed from behind the rocky formation behind InuYasha.

Like he was giving up for a moment, he let himself rest against the rocks he had landed on and muttered lowly: "Feh, you're as stupid as you are vain. I was only …"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kaede interrupted him: "… looking for a chance to steal the Shikon Jewel shard, is that it?"

I snickered, as I grabbed the clean hakui, plus the two hakama that Kaede had left for Kagome and me. Then I walked over to the rock formation that Kagome was hiding behind and handed her her set of clothing, then I adorned my pair of red hakama.

"Thanks, Aiko-chan," Kagome said as she adorned her white hakui and red hakama.

"Figured you needed the help," I said as I tossed her one of my carefree smiles at her.

Leaning up against the rocky wall, I closed my eyes and crossed my arms in front of my chest. I figured that I could have used another set of bandages around the still healing gashes on my right upper arm and back, but I didn't want to bother Kaede with taking care of me once again. Besides, I would heal in due time.

Kagome stopped up in front of me, and I looked up at her. She looked like a real miko, with her long black hair tied in a low hanging ponytail. I, on the other hand, looked like a bad copy of a miko, considering my pixie cut, dark blond hair.

"You look like a real miko," I said to her as I gave her a gentle smile.

"Thanks," she said as she glanced down at herself, then up and down at my outfit, "You look good too," she then added, giving me one of her gentle smiles.

I returned her smile, when I heard InuYasha uttering: "I _know_, old hag! Haven't I _told_ you I'd join those stupid girls … for _now_?!"

Sighing, I followed Kagome as she stepped forth from our temporary hiding place.

"Hey, you. How come you hate us so much, huh?" Kagome asked InuYasha as we walked over to where he was now sitting beside Kaede.

InuYasha stared weirdly at Kagome, though she didn't register it as she walked over to the small lake and began to wash her school uniform and the first hakui I had borrowed from Kaede. I appreciated that she would wash it for me.

"Thanks Kagome-chan," I said as I sat down beside the small fire Kaede had made.

The heat of the flames wavered over towards me and through my slightly wet clothes, warming and drying my body.

"Why such a face, InuYasha?" Kaede asked when she glanced over at InuYasha and saw his weird facial expression.

Before InuYasha could answer, there was a "Kaede-sama?" which came from one of the village women, her voice timid.

I glanced over in the direction where the voice had come from; back from where Kagome and I had changed our clothes.

Kaede turned towards the woman holding a little boy in her hand and a baby hang in a wrap of clothes on her back; "Yes?"

"It's my girl," the woman said as she stopped up in front of miko Kaede.

"She's fallen ill?" Kaede asked, which the woman responded with an affirmative nod.

Kaede then glanced back at us: "I must return to the village, try not to fight."

I waved goodbye to Kaede, then I glanced firstly at Kagome, then at InuYasha. Kagome looked slightly baffled, while InuYasha looked completely annoyed with Kaede's request. Inwardly, I sighed at the possibility of those two getting into an argument.

Silence drifted around us as Kagome hung her wet school uniform over a stick so it could dry. Kagome and InuYasha both had their backs turned towards one another.

The silence was disturbed when InuYasha said "Hey."

Not turning herself to face InuYasha, Kagome replied: "Hey, what."

InuYasha then turned his head to glance over his right shoulder.

"Take off those clothes."

Before I could react to his perverted request, Kagome had picked up a large rock and knocked it against his head. I was somewhat surprised that his skull hadn't cracked yet.

"What … was _that_ for…?" InuYasha hollered at Kagome as if he didn't know what was wrong.

A small bump had appeared on his head from where Kagome had hit him with the rock, and Kagome stood with visible fury, still holding the big rock in her hand: "You're an animal."

I chose to keep out of their discussion as InuYasha continued to toss harsh comments at Kagome: "I didn't say 'get naked'! Just get back into your own weird clothes!"

Kagome rested her hands on her hips as she faced InuYasha, while she tossed him a taunting comment: "Because these make me look like Kikyō?!"

"That has nothing to do with it," InuYasha said stubbornly as he turned his face away from Kagome – clearly, she had hit a nerve of his.

I loudly sighed this time, _maybe I should intervene in their discussion?!_ I asked myself internally.

"You know, if you can't be more civilized, we're never gonna be able to work together," Kagome said in a forlorn manner.

_This is quickly turning sour_, I thought as I got up from my position near the fire.

"Humph," InuYasha harrumphed as he had his back towards us; "That'd be fine with me; I'll find those shards even if I have to do it alone."

_Definitely not good_, "Ehm, guys …"

I was completely ignored.

"Oh really," Kagome said in a somewhat haughty manner, staring at InuYasha's back, "then you don't need me around, huh?" Kagome then asked in a tauntingly manner.

"Kagome-chan?" I asked as she turned around, grapping her still somewhat wet school uniform, "Where are you going?" I then asked as she began to walk away.

"What …?" InuYasha asked as he rapidly turned around in his seat to look at Kagome.

"I've made up my mind," Kagome said resolutely.

I began to walk towards her, following her as she said: "I'm going _home_ …"

That startled me completely: _home?_

"Wait, Kagome-chan …" I said hastily as I ran up to her while she walked away from InuYasha.

"'Bye animal! It's been real!" she said finitely.

I could hear InuYasha yell: "'Home'…?" quickly followed by a louder: "_WAIT!_"

Kagome glanced back at him from over her shoulder, and I stopped up just as she did.

"Uh-uh. It's no use trying to stop me," Kagome said with irritation lacing the tone of her voice.

InuYasha came over to us and stopped up in front of Kagome: "But you have a shard of the Jewel! …" he held out his hand when he added: "Leave it here!"

Kagome fished up the small pouch with the Jewel shard from her hakui, wafting it tauntingly in front of him: "You mean this?"

He seemed eager to get the Jewel shard, but I had a feeling what was coming up next as Kagome took a resolute hold of the pouch, annoyance clearly written upon her face.

"_SIT!_"

Once more, InuYasha kissed the ground as the beads around his neck forced him down face first to the ground. I looked conflicted from InuYasha to Kagome, back and forth, and back and forth.

"Why~, you…" InuYasha uttered in agitation.

Kagome turned around and walked away from the scene, a "Later, dude!" spoken nonchalantly to InuYasha.

I was really conflicted by this situation. It was our duty to collect all the shards, the _three_ of us, but now Kagome wanted to go home. And my first obligation was to make sure that Kagome was safe. I was stranded in between the two obligations. And even though I wanted to fulfill my duties of helping Kagome and InuYasha collect the Shikon shards, I had to pick Kagome over the responsibility of collecting Jewel shards. I quickly followed after Kagome, without looking over my shoulder at the hanyō.

~oOo~

"Kagome-chan?" I asked in a nervous voice.

We had been walking in silence for quite some time. She was leading us to the well from which we had come from. She didn't say a thing as she glanced at me from over her shoulder.

I sighed deeply: "I know that you want to go home …" I began saying, but I stopped myself mid-sentence.

I didn't want to get on her bad side at a moment like this. She was carrying a fuming aura around her, clearly still annoyed at InuYasha.

It wasn't like I liked the guy, but my sense of responsibility and duty lied deep in my blood. We really needed to help them – miko Kaede and the rest of Japan – by collecting the Jewel shards and make sure that destruction did not shatter this world.

She stopped up and turned around to face me. Her face was one of clear annoyance, but I could feel that it wasn't meant for me.

"Aiko-chan … I know how you feel about this whole situation …" Kagome said gently after a tired sigh, "but I miss home … and I'm sure that my family is looking for us."

I gave her a solemn nod, but then averted my eyes to the ground. This was really hard for me. Suddenly I felt arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Aiko-chan," Kagome muttered against my ear, then she sighed as well.

My arms rounded up around her slightly smaller form, using her as an anchor for my conflicting feelings. _She_ was my responsibility! I had to get her home safely … but what about these people here?

"Let's just get to the well, then we can find out together what we'll do from there, ne?" Kagome said as she pulled slightly away from me, holding me within arm's reach so that she could look me in the eye while still being close to me.

I gave her another nod, then a small smile, keeping the eye contact: "I'm here for you, Kagome-chan," was all I could say.

She returned my smile, then grabbed my hand as she continued to lead us to the well. Gently, I clenched her hand, reassuring her that I would always be there for her.

A pleasant silence stretched in between us for the rest of the trek, until we were able to spot the familiar well that we once had come out of and entered this time period.

_That seems so long ago_, I thought as I slowly walked over to the well with Kagome's hand still in mine.

"The well …" Kagome whispered as we went over to the well, letting go of each other's hand and glancing down to the bottom of it.

At the bottom, which were twenty feet down at least from the top of the well, there was a big collection of bones. I had a suspicion that those bones belonged to the centipede yōkai.

"If we have any chance of returning home, this is the place," I said as I glanced over at Kagome.

She looked fearful of getting into the well. Suddenly she squatted down, hiding her face in between her arms as she looked down at the earth. Her school uniform was dropped to the ground, forgotten.

"I can't go in there," she said, her voice shaking a bit with the imminent fear she had.

I squatted down beside her and placed a hand upon her shoulder in a soothing manner: "It's alright Kagome … you don't have to."

Her brown eyes shifted back up to me, locking with my green ones: "But this is our only way home…"

My attention shifted as I felt a presence, which seemed to surround us so suddenly. It was like that of a yōkai, but it seemed to come from everywhere. The next thing that happened was a thudding noise right behind us, like something had fallen to the ground.

"Huh?" I uttered confusedly as I looked behind me.

On the ground there was a little bird, which was cut in half. Blood tickled out from both halves from where it had been split in two.

"Something's off," I said as I got up from my squatted position.

Kagome followed my example, getting up herself. Her eyes landed on the dead bird.

"What?!" she exclaimed surprised.

Then suddenly, something invisible cut into her from many different angles, blood being drawn from her left cheek.

"Kagome!" I exclaimed as I drew Ōginsairensā, my eyes searching for the culprit.

Kagome leaned up against the well, her eyes growing wide like she saw something that I couldn't see.

"_HAIR?!_" she exclaimed.

_I don't see any hair_, I thought as I held Ōginsairensā protectively up in front of me, while I glanced around for the culprit.

"La… So, you can see it, can you…?" an overly sweet female voice said from behind me.

I gasped as I turned around, only to see a woman. A woman who was scantily clad in black, only barely covering her feminine parts. Around her slim waist there was a yellow obi with a wakizashi hanging on her left hip. The woman had black hair that went to her shoulders, with a small red ribbon tied into it.

"Though simply seeing it will do you no good!" the woman said, her sweet voice creeping me out.

I felt her presence, which surrounded us. It was the same presence I felt before the bird on the ground was cut in half.

"Who are you?!" Kagome yelled at the woman.

The presence reminded me of the centipede yōkai, and I figured that the woman in front of us was a yōkai as well.

The yōkai chuckled with her too sweet a voice: "Yura of the Hair, but I won't be offended if you don't remember it…" she smiled down at us, her main focus was on Kagome, "… Your life is about to end."

Yura lifted her hand and just as it happened, something invisible was attacking Kagome.

"Kagome!" I yelled, terrified for her well-being.

Then, as if by an invisible hand, the small pouch with the Jewel shard inside was pulled out from Kagome's grasp and flew over to Yura. Kagome gasped as the pouch disappeared from her grasp. I ran over to Kagome, my sword raised up in front of me as I placed myself in between Kagome and the mononoke, making myself into a human shield for Kagome. Yura's focus was on the pouch, which was now in her hand. She dug her hand into it, only to discover that there was only a shard of the once whole Shikon no Tama.

"Oh _my_! Just look what you've done to the Shikon Jewel," Yura exclaimed softly as she glanced at the pink little shard that was in between her fingers.

I scuffed annoyedly as Kagome yelled from behind me: "G-Give it back!"

Yura shifted her attention back at us as she magically drew her wakizashi, which flew up in her right hand.

Calmly and with that excessively sweet voice of hers, she said: "You may die now."

She charged us from the air, and I raised my sword to parry her attack. Her sword clashed with mine and she forced me back into Kagome. Kagome squeaked out in surprise as my back was pressed up against her front.

Then I felt it. Kagome's bodily presence behind me diminished. She was falling into the well.

"Kagome!" I yelled as I glanced over my shoulder.

It was like it all happened in slow motion. I saw her fall, deeper and deeper into the well. I didn't have any chance to try and grab her. Yura was very powerful, and I had to use both of my hands on my sword to keep her at bay.

"Kagome!" I screamed again as she was enveloped with the shadows within the well.

Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I thought of losing Kagome for real.

"Aiko!" Kagome was yelling my name as she disappeared from my sight.

Yura then removed herself from me and jumped up into the air, hovering over the well.

"It is no use trying to escape!" Yura said in a sing-song voice as she threw her wakizashi after my best friend.

"No!" I screamed as I turned around and glanced down into the well.

But the well was empty. Not even the bones that had been there before was there. The only thing that was there at the bottom of the well was Yura's wakizashi.

"La?" Yura said from above me.

I swiftly raised my tearstained face up to see her slowly swoop down to the top of the well, her feet landing on the rim of the well. I stood up slowly, raising my sword up in front of me, preparing to fight against the mononoke, with only one thought on my mind: _Kagome's gone!_

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**A/N: I hope you liked it. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of it. Until next Sunday, take care of yourselves.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Wakizashi**_** – a short-bladed sword with a blade length of 30-60 cm (12-24 inches).**


	4. Chapter 4 - Invisible Strings

**A/N: Hello again my lovely readers. First, a big thank you to EasilyAmused93 for joining the fave-family. Welcome, welcome. And a big thank you to those who have my story on their Alert-list.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Without further ado, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy.**

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**Chapter 4 - Invisible Strings**

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Yura's wakizashi flew up from the bottom of the well, which she easily caught when it was within reach.

"La…?" Yura then said once more, looking confused down at the bottom of the well.

"She's … gone …?" Yura muttered in her disgustingly sweet voice.

"You don't have to say that twice!" I sneered menacingly at her as I stood in an attack position.

Yura glanced over at me and tilted her head slightly to the side, looking confusedly.

"La…?" was all she said as she jumped up into the air once more, her wakizashi secured in her hand.

"You heard me! She's gone because of you!"

I felt a maddening anger in me, and I was purely intent on using my wrath against her. Something shifted within me as I glared menacingly up at the mononoke. I felt so furious; she was the reason that Kagome was gone! I was alone now…

"La… don't be so sad … you'll join her soon enough," she said with her nauseatingly sweet voice.

Then she attacked me … and I saw red.

I didn't have any control over what happened next, and I could only remember swinging Ōginsairensā at her. Then everything went black.

~oOo~

When I came to myself once more, I was kneeling in front of Kagome's school uniform. They were still lying beside the well, forgotten when we were attacked by Yura. Tears were gently streaming down my pale cheeks as I missed Kagome. She was gone …

But was she really _gone_ … like … _dead_?

_No_.

I was pretty sure that she was alive. I had a feeling that she had ended up getting home.

_Home_, I thought forlornly.

I was stranded in this time. Somehow, I knew that I couldn't use the well to get back to her. She was my ticket back to the present.

No, I couldn't give up. I had to get to her! With determination, I stood up and climbed up onto the rim of the well. I glanced down at the darkened earthy ground at the bottom of the well.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered to myself.

I jumped. My borrowed clothes billowed around me with the pressured wind as gravity stepped into the equation. I was willingly jumping into the well. The ground came closer… and closer… and…

I reached the bottom, but nothing exceptional happened.

My eyes shifted up to the top of the well. The presence of Yura was still swiveling around me.

I was still in the feudal era.

"DAMNIT!" I exclaimed in frustration.

My hands clenched into tight balls, with my knuckles turning white. I couldn't get home without Kagome … and she was already back in her rightful era … our rightful era.

I roared out in frustration, tears streaming down my cheeks anew. Above I heard the ruffling of feathers as birds squawked with their fright of hearing my emotions.

_What do I do now?_

I kept my eyes towards the sky, thinking of any plausible plans. Then it struck me.

_InuYasha!_

With newfound purpose, I climbed out of the well, which felt like it took no time at all. My blood was pumping fiercely in my veins as I ran with all I had towards the village.

~oOo~

I soon reached the village, but something was totally off. It was quiet … too quiet. Usually at this time of the day, the villagers would be buzzing around, doing their daily chores and converse with each other. But the streets were empty. Not a single soul was here.

There was the presence of Yuri, however, and it was like it surrounded the whole village. Even when I ran from the well and through InuYasha's Forest, her presence was consistent. I couldn't pinpoint the exact location of her, which disturbed me to no end. It was infuriating.

Come to think of it … what happened between me and Yuri? Did I battle her?

I couldn't remember it. All I could remember was me swinging Ōginsairensā at her … then nothing until I found myself sitting in front of Kagome's school uniform. For the life of me, I couldn't recall what happened in between. I only had the feeling of exhaustion coursing through my body. I had a feeling that I had fought against her. But then why couldn't I remember doing so?

A presence I knew too well was coming my way. The next second, I heard the soft shuffle of naked feet landing on the earthy ground of the street. I turned around and faced InuYasha, who was looking incredulously at me.

"Where's the other girl?" he asked me in an annoyed manner.

I glanced down at my feet for a second and figured he was hinting towards Kagome's whereabouts, I glanced up at him to answer my suspicions: "She's…"

But I didn't get to finish my sentence. Something shifted in the air and all around us, the women of the village arose and was hovering in the air. Their arms were stretched out to their sides and their heads were bopping like a ragdoll's. It was like someone was puppeteering them. They circled all around us, surrounding us.

"Keh…" I heard InuYasha say in aggravation.

The women all held some form of a weapon – sickles, meat axes, you name it – in their hands, which all were raised at the same time. Yuri's presence was shifting all around in our vicinity. I only managed to draw my weapon, ready to defend myself but not to attack.

They attacked.

"What are _you_…?!" InuYasha exclaimed.

They all attacked him, not a single one of the women attacked me. _Weird_…

My green eyes studied the movements of InuYasha as he defended himself from their attacks. He had grabbed two of the women's wrist; the wrists which was sported with a weapon and forced said women down to the ground.

"Wait, InuYasha …" I yelled as I hastily walked over to him, "Don't hurt them…"

"Well! If it isn't the village women!" he exclaimed with a slightly surprised voice.

He had apparently not heard me, so I opened my mouth to repeat myself, but I was beaten to it by Kaede's wise voice.

"Do not injure them!" she exclaimed loudly.

My eyes shifted instantly over to her and I gasped. She was lying on the ground, a grave wound on her left shoulder was streaming with blood as she shuffled closer to us. Quickly, I ran over to her and kneeled down beside her. Ōginsairensā was in my right hand as I placed my left hand on her back.

"Don't move Kaede-sama, you will only aggravate your injuries," I said in a hushed voice.

When I shifted my attention back to InuYasha, he had already dealt with the women of the village, though they didn't seem to be dead – just unconscious.

"Kaede, you witch," InuYasha said as he went over to Kaede and me.

He squatted down beside Kaede, opposite from where I was.

"What are you up to, all drenched in blood?" he asked in a bored manner, like he didn't really care about Kaede.

Kaede shifted a bit and looked up at InuYasha with her good eye: "As tactful as ever, I see…"

Kaede was definitely one for dry humor, and I would have laughed if it wasn't for the seriousness of the situation. Rustling sounds could be heard from the center of the village, just as Yura's presence shifted around us. My eyes landed upon the women who were rising as if invisible strings were pulling at them.

"Why are your women after _me_?" InuYasha asked.

From the corner of my eye, I could see that he was watching the women being pulled up once more.

"They are all under the power of someone … or some_thing_ else," Kaede said tiredly.

"Yura," I said as I shifted my gaze completely over towards InuYasha and Kaede, "she's a mononoke."

InuYasha looked at me and was about to ask me a question, but Kaede interrupted with a slightly weak voice: "Where's Kagome-chan? Call Kagome-chan and bring her here!"

"Kagome-chan is …" I began to say, but once again as I tried to tell them where she was, I was once again interrupted.

"No need. I can take care of this myself, hag!"

InuYasha stood up and flexed his claws, ready to take down the village women.

"No! No, you must not…!" Kaede exclaimed panicky.

InuYasha was standing still, taking in his opponents, which weren't his real opponents.

"Hear me now. The village girls are not in their right minds … and so do not deserve your claws!"

Kaede was clearly stressed over the situation, her voice worried. But InuYasha was prepared to defend himself from the villagers.

"Spare me your 'higher morality', Kaede! Didn't they almost kill you?"

I was standing up as well, prepared for their possible attacks. Ōginsairensā was clutched tightly in the grip of my right hand.

"Hear me InuYasha … unless you defeat the one who manipulates them from the shadows …" Kaede tried to lecture him, but he wasn't having any of it.

"There's no time to be so careful!" InuYasha exclaimed angrily.

One of the girls was flying towards him with a meat cleaver held high above her, ready to strike down at him.

Kaede was desperate as she uttered: "The _hair_, InuYasha! Cut the hair attached to the girls!"

She could see hairs … it was the same thing as Kagome had exclaimed back at the well. But I still couldn't see the hairs that Kaede was talking about. And apparently InuYasha couldn't either.

"What hair?! I don't see any hair!"

InuYasha swiped an attack towards the previously attacking woman, but just before he could scratch her with his claws, the woman flew high up into the air. The other women began to fly towards him, but his focus was entirely on the woman high above him.

"Behind you!" I yelled out – I wanted to help, but I didn't want to injure the women.

It happened so suddenly. Three of the women flew around InuYasha, ensnaring him with invisible strings. It was easy to see that he was incapacitated, like he was bound. The woman who had previously been above him charged down towards him with her meat cleaver. But before I could warn him, he jumped out of the way. He was muttering something to himself, then he jumped backwards as if he was trying to pull out the puppeteer … Yura.

But it didn't work. Some of the invisible strings around him loosened and he fell down to the ground. Dust billowed up around him as he harshly slid over the ground.

Why was _she_ after InuYasha?

Using innocent people to do her bidding was just so wrong. And I couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't trying to harm me. It didn't make any sense. If I just could take her out. But I couldn't pinpoint her exact location, her yōkai presence was everywhere around us.

InuYasha was hurled up against a nearby tree, the invisible strings tying him to it, squeezing him against it. Wait, why weren't they cutting through him?

When Yura attacked Kagome, she was able to cut through her clothes and draw blood. But no such thing happened to InuYasha. Was it perhaps his yōkai blood that somehow protected him?

"Curse it…" I could hear him sneer out.

Any moment and he would be headless. That's what I thought, but just then InuYasha roughly pulled at the invisible strings. The tree he had been tied to was shred to pieces and he was somehow free from the strings. I gaped at him; he was indeed powerful.

He jumped back to where Kaede and I were, his back turned towards us.

"I looked death in the eye for a moment there…" he said as he moved a hand up to his throat.

Kaede then said dryly: "A mere _human_ would be headless now."

I glanced down at her, completely agreeing to her dry statement. Yura's presence once more shifted and I glanced up. The men of the village were now raising like puppets with weapons in their hands.

"Damnit, she is using the men now!" I sneered with annoyance.

InuYasha shifted his gaze up as well and scuffed, clearly irritated at the situation: "We won't make any progress at this rate."

I solemnly agreed to his statement. InuYasha then squatted down in front of Kaede.

"Move your brittle bones!" he snapped at her.

Kaede shuffled herself up onto InuYasha's back and once she was secured, he stood up and watched me with calculating eyes.

"Go," I said as I sheathed my sword, "I'm right behind you!"

And we ran, or rather, I ran, and he jumped over twenty feet in one stride. He was soon out of view, but I could still feel his presence, which I used as my guideline to where he had jumped off to. Speaking of presence, I could still feel Yura's, but her presence was weak and didn't shift. The villagers weren't following us.

I ran towards InuYasha's presence, and I registered that I had entered the InuYasha Forest. Yura's presence was near non-existing in here. Soon I found myself near a great tree, though not as great as the Goshinboku. Underneath it rested Kaede with InuYasha sitting beside her, front towards me. I ran over to them and then I kneeled beside Kaede.

"Old witch. You said you can see the hair?" InuYasha said in an aggressive tone, "Then show me where it leads!"

I scowled at him: "Can't you see that Kaede-sama isn't in any condition to do so?" I said sourly.

That hanyō had no respect at all! Kaede glanced at me with a mild eye, her breathing steady and deep.

"My eyes are not what they used to be … and in this condition …" Kaede said as she shifted her gaze over to InuYasha, "That is why we need Kagome."

InuYasha furled his brows at the miko's statement: "You mean _she_ can see it?"

That's right, Kagome spoke of hair before she fell into the … "InuYasha, we must get Kagome-chan…"

He glanced at me, his eyes narrowing at me as he seemed to remember something: "You were about to tell me back in the village … Why isn't she with you?"

My hands clenched around the red fabric of my borrowed hakama and I shifted my gaze down to my clenched hands. I could feel the pressure of tears building in my green eyes.

Turning my eyes away from them, glancing at the forest floor, I said in an angry whispery manner: "We met the mononoke, Yura, near the well … I tried to protect Kagome-chan from Yura's attack … she got pushed into the well and I have a feeling that she has returned to our own time."

I felt angry at myself for not being able to protect Kagome as I was supposed to.

"Why aren't you dead then?" InuYasha asked me nonchalantly.

I hastily looked back at him, his golden eyes slightly narrowed and looked puzzled.

"I … don't know … after Kagome-chan fell into the well, I felt an immense anger and attacked Yura, but I can't remember what happened afterwards …" I shifted my eyes down to my lap for a few seconds, before they returned to his golden eyes, "Something strange must have happened, because she didn't attack me at the village…"

"Hmm," Kaede said in a thoughtful manner, her eye closed as she began to think deeply – well, it looked like she was thinking deeply.

InuYasha pulled my attention back to him: "How come you didn't go after her?"

"I couldn't … I tried, but it seems like I need Kagome-chan to get back to our own time."

"Well," InuYasha said as he stood up, "Seems like it's up to me then."

"You'll stay here with Kaede, while I pick up that stupid girl," he said determinedly.

"Wait," I said as I stood up as well.

But he had already taken off, leaving me with Kaede.

"Damn that _hanyō_!" I uttered annoyedly, "I need to be at Kagome-chan's side."

"And that you will be, Aiko-chan," Kaede said gently and I shifted my gaze back to her.

Her arms were resting on top of her stomach, relaxing the best she could considering the grave wound on her left shoulder. I kneeled down beside her.

"How can I, when I can't get to her and I don't know where Yura is hiding?"

I rested my hands on top of my knees and stared desperately at her face.

"You can _feel_ _her_, can you not?" Kaede asked me, her brown eye locking with my green ones.

"Feel? … you mean her presence?" I asked confusedly.

"Yes. You can sense her presence. Tis a rare gift for a human."

I lifted an eyebrow at her, "That may be, but I can't discern where exactly she is … her presence seems to be all around in the air, though it's not close to where we are right now."

She sighed at me: "That is the hair that makes it hard for you to find her exact location. But I have faith that you will be able to do just so."

Kaede seemed tired and she closed her eye.

"How?! Tell me!" I exclaimed desperately.

I clenched my hands in my hakama, desperate for some answers.

Another sigh left Kaede's weathered lips: "Close your eyes and focus on the presence. Look deep inside you and you will be able to find her."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in through my nose. Slowly I let it out through my mouth, to then repeat the action.

_Focus on the presence_, I thought.

I could feel the presence just outside the forest. The presence was swirling around in the air.

_Focus on it_.

Instead of Yura's presence being like a fog, it began to take form. I took another deep breath in through my nose and blew it slowly out through my mouth. The foggy presence took shape and turned into many thin lines crossing each other. It reminded me of some sort of spider web, though it didn't exactly take the form of a spider web, but the idea was there.

_Focus_.

One of the strands of hair was almost glowing. In my inner eye, it looked almost red, like it was a life-line. That is the strand of hair that will lead me to her, I was sure of it. I took another breath and let it out again.

_Focus_.

The red strand of hair lead me away from the village and towards a cliff.

_There!_

In my inner eye, I saw a great cocoon of hair, which seemed to pulse red. That was where she was hiding. Inside the cocoon of hair.

"I found her," I said patiently as I opened my eyes and glanced down at Kaede.

Her eye was closed, and her breathing was steady: "Go," was all she said.

"Will you be alright on your own?" I asked her while I got up from my kneeling position.

"Yes. Now go," she said almost impatiently.

That seemed a bit out of character for her, but maybe it was her wound that aggravated her. Though she wasn't looking at me, I nodded to her and began to run in the direction where Yura's nest was. As soon as I exited InuYasha's Forest, I felt the air shift and I could feel a wave of hair going after me.

_Behind me!_

I drew Ōginsairensā and turned around to cut down the wave of hair. I heard my sword cut clean down through the invisible hair and heard it turn to dust as if it had been destroyed. Surprised that my sword was able to cut through the invisible hair, I glanced down at Ōginsairensā, the blade gleamed a sharp silver with the soft rays of moonlight that hit it.

_I must continue_, I thought as I once more ran, cleaving every invisible wave of hair that happened to attack me.

~oOo~

"Cur … Curse you!" I heard InuYasha exclaim with pain lacing his voice.

I was finally there. Yura stood upon one of her hairs, I could feel it with the presence that surrounded me. InuYasha was held up in the air, gravely wounded from what looked like cuts made by a sword; her wakizashi. But where was Kagome?

"Hm. So half-yōkai are only half-strength after all," Yura taunted InuYasha with her annoyingly sweet-sounding voice, "Poor you. You wanted this to make you a full yōkai, didn't you?" she slowly pulled the pouch with the Shikon Jewel shard out from between her breasts, taunting InuYasha with what he wanted the most.

_Where are you Kagome?!_ I thought as I searched the vicinity.

My eyes landed on InuYasha's red suikan moving towards the ball of hair in the air, with skulls hanging outside of the previously whole cocoon. The person under it turned towards me, and I saw that it was Kagome who was under it. She looked unharmed and I let a sigh of relief out. We nodded to each other, indicating that we had registered each other, then I shifted my focus back to InuYasha and Yura.

"No moving now. If we don't behead you properly … that beloved hair of yours will get stained with blood," Yura said sweetly as she took aim at InuYasha's neck.

"Don't you dare!" I yelled up at her.

Both of them shifted their gazes towards me, only just now registering my presence.

"YOU!" Yura screeched at me, her eyes shining with the barest amount of fear.

She turned away from InuYasha and shifted her invisible hair around so that she was closer to me. I could feel the presence of her hair shift around me, readying to ensnare me or harm me.

"Oh, I seem to have made an impression," I taunted at her.

She sneered at me, clearly annoyed with my taunting words. The presence shifted and I knew she had sent a wave of hair towards me, targeting my back. In the last second, I turned around and cut the hair. The sound of the hair disappearing was clear in my ear. I faced her once more, Ōginsairensā tightly secured in my right hand.

"Now what did I do to piss you off?" I asked her curiously.

I must have done something to her under the blackout I had back at the well when I first met her.

Her eyebrows went straight up to her hairline in surprise.

"La…? You don't remember?" she asked, confused.

Before any of us could get an answer, InuYasha's clawed hand emerged from in between her breasts. His hand was soaked in her blood, with most of it dripping off of his claws. Then he pulled his hand out, leaving a giant hole in between her breasts.

"Hey, couldn't you have waited till I had gotten some answers, you _bastard_?!" I yelled, irritated at InuYasha as he slowly landed on a rock near me.

He was still wrapped in some of Yura's hairs; I could feel its presence.

"Keh," was all I got from him, when Yura stabbed her wakizashi into his bloodied hand.

"How very rude," she uttered unsatisfied by his actions, "Grabbing the bosom of a woman you've only just met."

I stared at her when I figured out that she was still very much alive, though she should have been dead with the giant hole in her chest.

_Is she only a puppet herself? If she is, then where's …?_

My train of thought was disrupted when she pulled out the pouch with the Shikon Jewel shard from between InuYasha's bloodied fingers.

"Hmph," she said in a displeasured manner, "and to have taken my Shikon Jewel shard while you were at it. Stubborn, aren't you?"

I was staring at her, trying to figure out how to kill her. She must've been a puppet herself, but then where was the puppeteer?

Before I could search out the presence of the _real_ Yura, the sound of rattling skulls pulled my attention up at the ball of hair. I saw Kagome trying to crawl her way up at the nest. But I wasn't the only one who'd registered Kagome's movements.

"You, girl!" Yura uttered in anger as she swung her right hand, making the hair that Kagome was crawling on shift to try throw her off.

"And where were _you_ watching?!" InuYasha yelled angrily at Yura as he struck her back with her wakizashi, which he had pulled out of his hand.

Yura was clearly becoming angrier and … nervous: "Shut up, _animal_!"

It must be the puppeteer she was trying to hide in her nest. I had to get to the nest!

"Huh, you were calm enough when I ran you through … but now you seem a touch nervous," InuYasha said, having Yura's full attention.

Now was my chance. I closed my eyes and focused on the real presence, trying to discern the best possible way of getting to it.

"Is there something here that you don't want us to find?" InuYasha asked Yura

Just as I found my path to where the presence was the strongest. Which was inside a skull. I jumped up on the invisible hair and began to run up on it. Then I jumped over to a new lane of hair and continued up towards the nest.

"InuYasha! Aiko-chan! There's something about that skull," Kagome yelled to us and pointed at the skull which presence I had felt, "Something _in_ it!"

Kagome didn't only alert InuYasha and me, but also Yura, who swung herself towards Kagome. Her wakizashi hung a bit from her dismembered hand which was swinging after Yura.

_Almost there!_

Yura swung her wakizashi down towards Kagome, but instead she met the steel of my blade.

"Tch!" Yura exclaimed at me as she jumped away from me, fear clear in her eyes.

"Your opponent is me!" I said to Yura, then I spoke over my shoulder to Kagome: "Get that skull!"

She nodded and continued to climb her way up the nest towards the skull. I shifted my eyes back to Yura, seeing her fuming with rage over not being able to get Kagome away from the skull.

"You're afraid of me?!" I uttered with astonishment.

She was scowling at me by my comment, not at all happy that I had seen her fear of me.

"What happened at the well? Tell me!" I yelled at her.

But she kept scowling at me, not uttering a single word to me. The only thing she did was grasping her wakizashi in her still attached left hand and charged me. The blade arched towards me in a sideway motion. I parried it, easily – her swordsmanship wasn't that great.

"I'm not gonna satisfy you with an answer!" she sneered at me, a remnant of her sweet voice still underlining her tone.

She swung her wakizashi at me once more, and this time I simply dodge it.

"Why the hell not? You have nothing to lose by telling me!" I yelled back at her while I made my own attack against her.

I swung my blade in a downward motion, but she parried it by pushing my blade to the side with her wakizashi, then she jumped up and away from me.

"But you have all to gain!" she said with a sneer marring her facial expression.

_Damn yōkai!_ I thought as I jumped after her, using her web of hair as landing platforms for every jump I made.

After the third jump I was almost at her. Knowing that there were no more hair to use as a landing when I made the last jump, I jumped after her and swung Ōginsairensā at her in a sideways motion. She parried my blow, and I felt myself being grabbed by gravity. I was falling. Thinking quickly, I searched for the nearest presence of her invisible hair. Luckily, it was right under me, and I landed in a squat. I glanced behind me and saw that Kagome almost had the skull within her grasp. My eyes shifted back at Yura, who was staring evilly at Kagome. Just as she was about to swing her hair to control the hair at the nest, trying to shake Kagome off of the nest, crescent formed blades of crimson cut off her remaining arm.

"Remember the _Hijin_ _Kessō_?!" InuYasha yelled at her from the rock he was standing on.

Fury erupted on Yura's facial features and not a second after, InuYasha had Yura's wakizashi in his chest. Yura's newly dismembered arm was still holding the tsuka. Blood squirted out of the newly made wound in InuYasha's chest.

"Fool," Yura sneered at InuYasha, her dismembered arm flying back to her.

Her wakizashi was still in the hand as she send it flying towards InuYasha, going for the killing blow.

"I'm _immortal_!" Yura yelled as the wakizashi flew at an incredible speed towards InuYasha

Suddenly, Yura froze in action, her dismembered arm with her wakizashi stilled in the air. The repeated echoing sound of _dunk_,_ dunk_,_ dunk_ resided from somewhere behind me. Turning abruptly around I saw Kagome using an arrow to crack the skull, which the presence of Yuri was the strongest, the puppeteer.

"Girl, you're dead!" Yura screamed at Kagome as her dismembered arm flew towards Kagome, her wakizashi pointing straight at Kagome.

_I can't reach it in time_, I thought panicky as the sword came closer and closer to Kagome.

Kagome kept her focus on stabbing the skull with her arrow.

_NO!_

Just as I thought it was too late, the arrow pierced the skull and went straight through it. Yura froze, like her strings had been cut, as another sickening crack resounded around us. A second after, Yura dissolved, like she wasn't even there to begin with. The only thing left of her was her clothes, which slowly fluttered down to the ground, landing on top of the mountain of skulls.

Just as the clothes landed, I felt gravity kick in, the wave of hair I had been standing on disappeared. But my fall wasn't long, yet I landed upon a lot of skulls, which cracked and shattered at the force of my fall and weight.

"Auch," I muttered as it hurt a bit.

"So, Yura … you hid your soul in a comb," InuYasha said from right behind me, "No wonder nothing I did to your body hurt you…"

I slowly got up and walked the few steps that were between me, Kagome and InuYasha.

"I-InuYasha… you're injured…" Kagome said concerned for InuYasha's well-being.

He didn't look good; his hadagi – once white – was now stained with his blood, most of the white fabric had turned into a crimson smear.

"Because you gave me your cloak…" Kagome said, saddened about it while she gave back his suikan.

"Never mind about me … where's the Shikon Jewel…?" InuYasha asked.

I glanced back at the bundle of clothes, which had been Yura's and saw Kagome walk towards it.

She grabbed the pouch it had been in and pulled the small pink shard out of it: "Here it is…"

She stared at it for a while, before she put it back into the small pouch. Meanwhile, InuYasha got up, the skulls which he was upon clattered as they were pressed against one another.

"Let's go, Kagome … Aiko."

_Huh?_

He said our names … I stared at him, completely flabbergasted as he for once had uttered our names. He began to walk away but stopped up when neither Kagome nor I followed after him. His golden eyes shifted between Kagome and me a few times.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clearly not understanding the significance of him saying our names.

"You said our names," I said astonished.

He raised an eyebrow at me: "What about it?"

Kagome then answered for the both of us: "Are you trying to be … a little bit friendlier?"

"Of course," InuYasha said sarcastically.

I couldn't help the deep sigh that left my lips.

"I've always wanted a fool and a weakling as friends …"

Sarcasm was literally flooding through his every word, and here I thought …

"Hey, I saved your life just now!" Kagome uttered with annoyance as she placed a hand upon InuYasha's battered back.

He was paralyzed with pain as her hand touched his back, falling fore over against the skulls.

"So, what's wrong?!" Kagome asked sarcastically, "A _weakling_ couldn't hurt you, could she?!"

Well, if she's the weakling … then that would make me the fool. Another deep sigh left me as I folded my arms in front of my chest.

"Oh, shut up…" InuYasha muttered against the skulls.

Suddenly I felt a new presence, though this one was definitely a weak one. I glanced around, but I wasn't able to spot anything other than the hundreds of skulls we were standing upon. I shrugged my shoulders and began to walk back to the village, with Kagome at my side and InuYasha still lying upon the skulls.

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**A/N: So that's it for this time; I hope you enjoyed it. If you remember what happens next in the manga, you all know who appears in the next chapter. Stay tuned and I'll see you all next Sunday.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Hijin Kessō**_** – (****飛刃血爪****) Claws of Blood.**

_**Suikan**_** – a form of wide sleeved hunting jacket.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Captured by Beauty

**A/N: Hello again, my lovely readers. First of all, a big thanks to Alice Cullen Hale1 for joining the fave-family, and a big thanks to those that have my story on their Alerts. And a big thanks to xXRitz-aholicXx for your review, though I can't give you any spoils of how this story may or may not turn out to be. Anyways, I hope you guys are exited for this chapter and have awaited it with bated breath.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**So, with that said, enjoy the newest chapter.**

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**Chapter 5 – Captured by Beauty**

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_Amazing … simply just amazing!_

I had finally returned to our own time with Kagome, and I did indeed need Kagome to get back. Her mother had fussed over me, happy to see that I was alright. She had been worried when I didn't appear together with Kagome the first time Kagome had returned from the Sengoku period. Kagome's mother had almost forced me into the bathtub practically as soon as I had arrived. And boy, it was the best bath I had ever had. I soaked in the water for over an hour, almost falling asleep in the bathtub. That's how relaxed I felt – and my hair and whole body had a pleasing scent of sakura blossoms once I was done. Then I had the best dinner of my life, with lots of fish and rice. I felt totally spoiled by Kagome's family.

Kagome and I had decided to return to the warring states era once morning came. And when it did, Kagome was running around, packing a red backpack with all kinds of things. I also packed a back, but only a small one. My dark green sack-like backpack held a change of clothes: an osode – the color a light grey with black trimmings at the neckline, the wrists and at the bottom – a pair of black leggings which went past my knees, a pair of white tabi, a black obi, then three pairs of white panties and matching bras. Then there was a toothbrush and toothpaste, a comb, a maintenance kit for my sword, a rope, and a bottle of sakura blossom shampoo.

I was waiting for Kagome to finish packing; she was still packing her backpack.

"Kagome-chan, are you done yet?" I asked in a bored manner as I sat at the dining table in the kitchen, my head in my hands and my elbows upon the table.

"Almost," she said hurriedly as she ran upstairs to grab something.

When she came back down again, she quickly stuffed the item into the backpack – I didn't get a chance to see what exactly it was – and closed the backpack, which was almost impossible to close with all the stuff she had in it.

"Done," she exclaimed happily as she put the backpack on, almost tumbling backwards with the weight in it.

"Great, let's go then," I said as I jumped up from my seat and quickly ran over to the entrance hall.

"Just a moment, Kagome-chan," Kagome's mother said as she was carrying a first-aid kit, "Take this with you. You may need it."

"Kā-san, I already have too much in my backpack already," Kagome almost wailed with the weight of her backpack on her shoulders.

"But didn't you say that your friend had been injured?" her mother asked her.

Kagome sighed, then accepted the first-aid kit from her mother.

"You take care now, you two," she said to us endearingly.

"We will," Kagome and I said at the same time.

Then we headed out – after we said our goodbyes – and over to the well-shrine. But before we entered the well, Kagome grabbed her bike and pulled it along-side her.

"What do you need the bike for?" I asked her curiously.

She stopped up and lifted a finger: "I'm not gonna keep traveling upon InuYasha's back whenever we are in a hurry."

"But I'm not taking a bike with me, and I can't run as fast as he can," I said patiently, "so under any circumstances, we will not be able to travel faster than any of the slowest one can run."

"You can sit on the back of the bike, no biggie … I want it with me!"

I sighed at her; there was no point in arguing with her.

"Alright, you win…"

Satisfied, she pulled the bicycle with her and we entered the well-shrine. We stopped up right next to the well and glanced down into the deep dark pit.

"I think we need to make two trips; you won't be able to have a hold on both me and the bike at the same time…" I said as I glanced over at her.

"I think you're right, Aiko-chan," Kagome replied as she placed the bike next to the well.

"Let's make the jump first … once there I'll wait for you at the top of the well and I'll help you get the bike up; I've got a rope in my sack."

She nodded in agreement to my plan. We sat up at the top of the well and glanced at each other while we held each other's hand, her right in my left. Then we jumped. After traversing through the space-like passage, we landed at the bottom of the well and knew that we were in the past once more. We quickly climbed out of the well, and I prepared my rope to when she came back from her second trip. Before she jumped back to our time, she had placed her backpack beside me; no need to take it back and forth twice. I had to wait a few minutes before she was back again.

"Aiko-chan, you can let the rope down now," Kagome yelled up to me from the bottom of the well.

I tossed one of the ends down to her, which she tied to her bike, then I pulled it up – it wasn't that heavy. While I untied the rope from the bike, I heard her climb out of the well as well. I packed my rope back into my sack, then I leaned over the top of the well and reached a hand out for Kagome to take a hold off, helping her up the last bit of the way.

"Thanks," she said once she was back on solid ground.

She quickly put her backpack on and stepped up on her bike, with me sitting on the back of it, and then she was peddling her way to the village. I held onto her waist, so that I wouldn't fall off the bike while she did all the peddling.

On our way through the rice marks, I could feel a presence which I had felt before. But it was weak, and I couldn't spot any danger, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.

"Huh?" Kagome then said surprised.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Thought I just ran over something … must be my imagination," she said uncaringly.

I quickly pushed it out of my mind and just enjoyed the gentle wind that swept through my short dark blond hair and made my clothes billow gently. Kagome kept on stepping on the peddles of the bike until we came upon a tree. Before I glanced up and spotted the person up in the tree, I felt InuYasha's presence and knew it was he who sat up in the tree.

Kagome stopped up right under the tree, and I jumped off the bike, followed by Kagome who placed the bike to the side.

"Hey InuYasha," she yelled kindly up to InuYasha, giving him a greeting wave.

I waved up to him as well. He was hanging on a thick branch in a sluggish manner, not appearing to want to get down from the tree.

"Won't you come down so that I can tend to your wounds?" Kagome asked him as she stood almost right under him with the first aid kit in her hands.

He glanced down at her with a curious expression: "Tend my wounds?" he asked in a drawling manner, "You think I need _you_?"

He closed his eyes, ignoring Kagome's inquiries.

"Drop the attitude. You got _hurt_ in that fight," Kagome said patiently, then added: "Now come down."

I had a feeling of where this was heading.

InuYasha ignored Kagome's inquiry once more, only uttering a nonchalant: "Huh," but he didn't move.

Kagome closed her eyes, then said in an overly sweet voice: "_Sit_."

And just as she had said it, he fell down face first to the ground.

"Now take of your clothes, so that I can tend to your wounds," Kagome said as she became more and more impatient.

InuYasha pushed himself up in a sitting position but made no motion of taking off his clothes.

"Just do it already," Kagome uttered in annoyance.

Then she did something I wasn't expecting. When he didn't seem to want to cooperate, she jumped up on his lap and tried to force his suikan and hadagi off of his torso. I blushed immensely at their compromising position. This was so awkward.

"Kagome-chan …" I tried to tell her, but they began to argue amongst one another.

They completely forgot that I stood not five feet away from them. My face was probably as red as a tomato as they argued and battled physically, either for taking off or keeping on InuYasha's clothes.

"Just take off your clothes!" Kagome yelled at him annoyed.

"_Beg_ me to!" he yelled back as he tried to put back on his clothes to cover up his slightly bared chest.

Then there was an unexpected voice that spoke up alarmed, an old and wise voice: "Close your eyes, children!"

I glanced over to the owner of the voice and spotted miko Kaede, with a few kids standing behind her, trying to get a glimpse of the scene before them.

Then there came an unintelligent "Huh?" from Kagome and InuYasha.

"Well I see you two have gotten over your differences," Kaede said in a somewhat dry tone.

A "What?" then came from Kagome, just as InuYasha uttered: "_AARGH!_" as he realized what a compromised position they were in.

I knew that my cheeks were red with embarrassment, but the redness quickly diminished once InuYasha harshly jumped up with a "Get off of me!", which resulted in Kagome landed harshly on her behind.

Then he showed of his bare chest, which was totally free of wounds – not even a scar was left on his chest: "Don't you understand? My body is _special_!"

He was quite muscled, but that was somehow not a surprise, considering that he was a hanyō – and a really strong one.

"Oh," Kagome said as she took a closer look at InuYasha's chest, "you're all … healed?"

"Hmph," InuYasha then expressed kind of haughtily.

I felt a presence appear, and it was the same presence that I had felt on our way here from the well.

And just as I had registered the presence, InuYasha yelled up: "_OWWW!_"

He glanced down at his chest, where a small black speck was residing. With a sudden curiosity, I walked over to see what it was.

Then it spoke: "InuYasha … no time no suck!"

When InuYasha spotted the talking black spot, he clapped his hand on his chest, squashing the thing upon his chest. Withdrawing his hand, it now resided in his open palm. I was standing beside him and glanced at the creature, who quite resembled a bug, and chills immediately ran up my spine. It was barely an ich tall, with a bald head with grey hair surrounding his head in a half-crown, and a nose that looked like a darkened carrot. It had four arms and wore a dark green yukata with small black stripes scattered over the fabric, and a pair of brown hakama. On its back was a rice-hat, which hung at its neck with strings.

"Well, well, if it isn't Myōga the Flea," InuYasha said in a neutral manner.

"_WAAAH!_" I exclaimed as I jumped back – dear kami, I really hated bugs.

"It's a _BUG_!" I then squealed in fear as I made the distance bigger between me and the bug.

"Technically, I'm a yōkai," the bug-thing then exclaimed in a wise voice.

"YOU'RE STILL A BUG!" I shouted as I kept my hands up in front of me in a protective manner.

"Keh, don't tell me that you're afraid of little Myōga-jīji?!" InuYasha exclaimed in an arrogant manner, before he roared out in laughter as he glanced over at me.

I felt my cheeks flush red with embarrassment, small tears gathering in the corners of my eyes: "It's not _funny_!" I squeaked out in anger and slight fear.

Suddenly the flea-yōkai landed on my nose, and I felt myself become paralyzed as I glanced at the little bug,

"You don't have to fear me," Myōga the Flea said in a gentle manner.

"A talking bug!" was all I could fearfully mutter as the tiny yōkai glanced up at me with big round eyes.

~oOo~

We had returned to Kaede's hut, with Myōga in our company. I kept myself as far away from it as possible, almost clinging myself to Kagome like a second layer of skin. Why did I have such a deep fear of bugs? It was so inconvenient!

"Someone's trying to rob my father's grave?" InuYasha asked Myōga.

"As guardian of the tomb, I couldn't just sit back and let them find it, so …" Myōga started telling but was interrupted by InuYasha: "So you _abandoned_ it and came running here."

I was still frightful of Myōga, because of him being a bug, but I slowly grew accustomed to him as he didn't seem to be so scary … _not like the centipede yōkai_, I thought sourly as chills ran up my spine.

My attention shifted over to Kaede as she spoke in her wise old-woman voice: "They say your father was an inu-yōkai who claimed the western lands as his domain …"

InuYasha looked bored as he replied: "I don't remember a thing about him."

"He was the most glorious and powerful of yōkai …" Myōga praised InuYasha's father, then added in an afterthought: "… and he had the most delicious blood!"

Then I thought interestedly: _If his father is a yōkai, and InuYasha is a hanyō, then would that mean that his mother is …_

But Kagome asked my unspoken question: "Then … then what about his mother?"

This enraged InuYasha: "Shut your mouth! She died a long time ago!"

It was apparent that it was a touchy subject for InuYasha, but Myōga began to express himself on the matter of InuYasha's mother: "Ah, she was the fairest of all the …"

But before he could complete his sentence, InuYasha squashed him with his thump and stormed out of Kaede's hut. I felt kind of bad for the flea-yōkai now.

"Hey … wait…" Kagome exclaimed confused but was completely ignored by InuYasha.

Kagome sat and looked like one who thought deeply, then she headed out after InuYasha. I chose to stay behind. Though I wasn't happy with the company of a bug, I had to ask him.

"M-Myōga-san…?" I asked uncertainly.

I felt him look at me; he was so small that with the distance between me and him I wasn't able to see him as anything but a black speck, "Yes, Aiko-chan?"

"Is … was … InuYasha's mother … human?" I asked nervously; it was so weird talking to a bug.

"Indeed, she was," he said.

Suddenly the air shifted, and an immense presence appeared. I was so overwhelmed that I gasped with the sheer force of it. I clutched my grey osode over my erratically beating heart.

"What is it Aiko-chan?" Kaede asked me concerned.

Without answering I got up and stormed out of Kaede's hut. With the sheer force of that presence … Kagome would definitely be in grave danger. My protectiveness over her kicked in full force as I ran towards the presence, which only seemed to grow.

When I was almost where the presence was the strongest, I spotted InuYasha and Kagome staring up at the sky. My eyes shifted up to the sky too, when a giant dark brown hand immerged from in between the clouds and crushed a flying carriage. Though I could slightly sense the presence of the creature, who's hand was crushing the carriage. The other, more overwhelming presence was somewhere upon the creature. Hiding up in the clouds on the giant creature.

InuYasha stormed forward, and I saw that the giant creature held a woman in its hand. He jumped up in the air, but just as he did so, flames flew towards him, like a flamethrower was spewing the orange and yellow flames out, and he narrowly avoided it.

I was now beside Kagome as the clouds drifted away and revealed two figures upon the arm of the creature. One of them was a little, green, toad/imp-like creature who was holding a staff in his hands. The other was … a tall handsome man … and the person whose presence I had felt from Kaede's hut. Kami … I felt breathless as I saw him. His long silvery hair swayed gently with the wind and he was wearing a beautiful gi; his kimono was white with red stripes at the end of his sleeves and on his left shoulder, with small white sakura motives incorporated into the red stripes. On his right shoulder there was a long fluffy-looking fur. Some of his armor was visible; mostly at his left shoulder, where the spiky shoulder guard was. He was wearing a yellow obi with blue wavy motives on, and a sword was sheathed at his left hip. A pair of white hakama, and a pair of black ankle-length boots finished his outfit.

My eyes landed on his face, where I was able to discern two magenta stripes on each of his cheeks, and a blue crescent moon rested in the middle of his forehead. Then there was his eyes. Golden with black slits as pupils. But they were so awfully cold. Chills ran up my spine as I saw his magnetic eyes.

"Jaken," the beautiful male said in a deep voice; his tone cold, "Kill him only after we've talked."

A fluttery feeling erupted in my stomach at the sound of his voice. Kami … I felt weak as I heard him speak.

"Aye, m'Lord!" the imp-like creature squawked shrilly.

I couldn't take my eyes off of him, and I barely registered InuYasha as he yelled to the beautiful but deadly man on the monstrous arm: "Is that _you_ … _Sesshōmaru?!_"

_So, his name is Sesshōmaru?_ I asked myself as I was more than incapacitated by his beauty.

"Ah, you remember me. I am flattered," Sesshōmaru said, his voice doing weird things to my body, "Dear little brother…"

That was unexpected … InuYasha and Sesshōmaru were … brothers?!

Now that he mentioned it, they were a bit similar in it, with their golden eyes and silvery hair. But InuYasha didn't have facial markings, so … did that mean that Sesshōmaru was a pure-blooded yōkai?

His eyes suddenly snapped over to me, staring me right in the eye, and I felt immobilized by his intense stare. Something shifted in his golden eyes, but I was unable to read them.

"Human…" was all he said, his voice carrying itself to me with such intensity that I couldn't help but gasp.

My cheeks felt suddenly very warm and I was pretty sure that I was blushing. I was caught in the depths of his golden eyes, unable to free myself from their intense stare.

I heard InuYasha speaking, but I was unable to hear his exact words. It was like I was inside a glass bell and his words were swallowed by the echoing rumble of the bell.

"How fitting that you should be dallying with a human," Sesshōmaru said, while he kept staring at me.

What was he doing to me? Why was I unable to break this intense eye contact?

Suddenly Sesshōmaru shifted his gaze away from me, and I felt that I could breathe again. My heart was hammering violently in my chest, and I had to grab a hold of my osode; right over my beating heart to try quietening it down.

"You," Sesshōmaru said as his focus shifted over to InuYasha, "with your mortal wench of a mother … you seek your own level at last."

He was definitely not kind that would be too … kind to say that he was. He was crude and cold, yet I felt spellbound to him. This was literally not a good thing; how would I be able to protect Kagome, if he chose to attack her? Would he attack her … or me? What the hell would I do if he tried to attack me?

I wasn't sure if I would be able to defend myself.

"Sesshōmaru. If you came all this way just to insult me…" InuYasha said his voice full of rage over the insults that Sesshōmaru had tossed at him.

"Silly half-breed," Sesshōmaru interrupted with his cold voice, yet it somehow seemed arrogant in it, "Do you think I have so much time to waste?"

A short pause filled the air with tension as Sesshōmaru held all of our attention: "I want you to direct me to our dear father's grave."

Once more he glanced over at me and immediately caught my eyes in another intense stare. It stole my ability to breathe and to form any coherent thought other than: _Kami, he's so majestic!_

"So, _you're_ the one?" InuYasha yelled in a questioning manner, which pulled Sesshōmaru's golden eyes back to the hanyō.

I heard myself take a big gulp of air and forced my eyes away from the yōkai.

"I don't have a clue!" InuYasha then yelled.

"I see," Sesshōmaru said in his entrancing deep voice, and it took all in me to not look up at him again. "Then it can't be helped."

Something in Sesshōmaru's voice made me alert and I glanced up at him again, just as he said the most awful thing I could've imagined: "Your mother will just have to suffer…"

As he said this, my eyes shifted down to the woman in the giant creature's hand, just as the creature clenched its hand around the beautiful woman. Just then I registered that something seemed off about this woman – her aura … she wasn't human.

"InuYasha!" Kagome yelled panicky at InuYasha.

For the first time since I had lain my eyes on Sesshōmaru, I glanced over at Kagome and saw the slightly frightened expression on her face.

InuYasha then growled at Sesshōmaru: "You think I'm stupid?! Mother's been dead for years! You can't fool…"

Mockingly, Sesshōmaru interrupted InuYasha: "Play the fool, be the fool. Don't you think, with all my power that I can't bring back you mother's soul from the land of the dead?"

Once again, like a magnet, he managed to pull my eyes back to him.

"… And even find her a physical body?"

Was that maybe the reason the woman seemed like she wasn't human? Had she been resurrected and gotten a new body?

Even though I had a feeling that Sesshōmaru had the power to do so, the disturbing feeling of the woman not being a human kept nagging at me.

"Inu… Ya… sha…" the woman said weakly as she reached a hand towards said hanyō.

"Please … don't trouble yourself … I've been dead once … anyway…" the woman then said equally as weak as when she had uttered InuYasha's name.

Then the giant creature clenched its fist, squeezing the woman painfully. I gasped and stepped closer to Kagome, my hand searching for hers and found it. Both of us clenched each other's hand agonizingly, nervous over this whole situation.

InuYasha roared in fury and jumped up.

"_Away, yōkai!_" he yelled as he slashed the creature's hand off of its arm with his claws.

The woman and the severed hand fell to the ground and Kagome let go off my hand as she rushed over to the woman. I could only stare from a distance.

"Kagome! Get her _out_ of here!" InuYasha yelled.

He mustn't have noticed me yet … though it was understandable with all the things that had been going on.

I then heard Sesshōmaru yell: "You will _not_!" as the giant creature used its remaining hand to try and squash InuYasha, the woman, and Kagome.

"InuYasha!" the woman yelled panicky.

A ball of white light emerged from in between her hands, enveloping the trio in it. The light almost blinded me, and I had to shield my eyes with the sleeve of my osode. When the light diminished, my eyes landed on the empty spot where they had been before.

_Where did they go?_ I thought, a sudden despair filling my whole person.

"Kagome-chan?" I asked uncertainly as I took a step forward.

"Hn, so you're still here…" I heard Sesshōmaru say coldly and I hastily shifted my green eyes up at him.

He was staring emotionlessly down at me with his golden eyes, and I once again felt breathless. Dear kami, he was making me feel so weak.

"What a pity," he then said as he jumped off of the monstrous arm and landed gracefully in front of me, approximately five feet away.

I couldn't utter a word as he elegantly sauntered over to me, to then stop up right in front of me. Kami, he was tall. I had to crane my neck to be able to look up at his face when he was so close to me. A tense silence filled the small space in between us, and I was again unable to tear my eyes away from his. It felt like he could see right through me, yet I was unable to read him at all. I didn't know how long we stood like that, but I felt like I could stay there for an eternity. Just staring into his golden eyes, even though they were as cold as ice. His eyes then shifted over my form, studying me and I felt like a deer caught in headlights. Heat rushed up to my cheeks and I felt slightly dizzy.

"Hn," he said nonchalantly, and his eyes met mine once again.

Suddenly his right hand darted out and grabbed around my slender neck. His grip was strong, yet it seemed like he wasn't putting that much pressure on it. Would he kill me now?

I could feel the claws at the end of his fingers, gently digging into my skin at the back of my neck – his hand and fingers were almost able to encircle my neck fully. But they didn't pierce the delicate skin. My hands sought up to his hand and were gently resting against the fair skin of his strong hand. I was completely at his mercy; without batting an eye he would be able to break my neck.

"I should end your pitiful life," he said monotonously with his deep and cold voice.

I didn't dare to breathe. All I could do was stare into his eyes and wait for his judgement. His eyes let go of mine and glanced down behind me, apparently seeing something of interest.

Another "Hn," came from him as his left hand sought out after something behind me.

The only things I had on me was my sack and my ōdachi, but considering how his hand moved, I was quite sure that he was seeking out my sword. Suddenly I began to panic. He mustn't touch it.

"Don't touch it!" I whispered, yet my tone was sharp with an underlying threat.

His hand stilled and his eyes shifted back at me. Once again, I felt immobilized, yet I felt strong at the same time; he mustn't touch it!

"Hn?" he said once more, his face impassive as he searched my eyes for something.

"What makes you think that I wouldn't be able to take it from you?" he asked me, his tone seeming somewhat excited as if he found it funny that I would try to defy him.

I didn't know what to say to his question, so the only thing I could think of was to repeat myself: "Don't touch it!"

My voice seemed harsher and more powerful, yet it was still like a whisper as I had said the words once again.

"I don't takes orders from others," he said coldly and then his hand went to grab my weapon.

He couldn't touch it. As soon as he was about to grab a hold of the saya, sparks could be heard from my back. I couldn't see what was happening, but I somehow knew that he was unable to touch it.

"Hn… interesting," he said coldly, yet there was an underlying exhilaration in his tone.

He let go of my neck, and my hands immediately let go of his hand. But just as quickly as he had let go of my neck, he grabbed both of my wrists and began to pull me towards the giant creature. My legs moved on their own accord, yet I felt like I should resist his pull.

"Jaken," Sesshōmaru said in a cold commanding way.

The little toad/imp-creature immediately jumped to his bidding. I had completely forgotten that it existed.

"Yes, m'Lord?" the imp asked as Sesshōmaru jumped up on the creature while having me in his grip.

"Let's go," was all Sesshōmaru said.

As soon as he had said it, the giant creature began to move, as if it knew its destination. Sesshōmaru was still having a tight grip on my wrists and forced me down into a kneeling position.

Jaken then asked surprised: "But Sesshōmaru-sama, what of the human? Aren't we going to kill her?"

Sesshōmaru threw him a look that clearly indicated that if he asked any more questions, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the green toad-imp.

"Sorry, m'Lord," Jaken said as he kneeled in front of Sesshōmaru, repeatedly banging his head against the creature's arm reverently to Sesshōmaru.

Each step the creature took sounded heavy like rolling thunder. I was puzzled about why I hadn't been killed and why I was now, what it seemed, a hostage.

Somehow, I found my voice: "Where are you taking me?" I asked nervously, my voice like a whisper.

Sesshōmaru glanced down at me, his golden eyes as emotionless as ever. Apparently, I wasn't worth an answer – he turned his gaze away from me and glanced towards the horizon.

I was in some deep shit, I knew that, but I had no way to do anything about it. I could only hope that Kagome and InuYasha were alright, because I couldn't do a thing at this point.

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**A/N: Oh dear, what to say and what not to say … did you like it? I would like to hear your thoughts, so if you want to, please leave a Review, and let me know your thoughts. Stay tuned for the next chapter which will arrive on next Sunday. See ya.**


	6. Chapter 6 - A Rusty Fang

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers. A new chapter is now on, ain't it exiting? Anyways, I like to thank FluffySlipperz, xXRitz-aholicXx, Alyce DreamEater, and Sakurapm38 for joining the fave-fam; it's always nice to know that someone likes what you're doing. And a big thanks to crazy4manga and xXRitz-aholicXx for the reviews, I love your praising words. Praises are always something to look forward to. Also, thanks to those of you who've put my story on your Alerts, and to all the peeps reading my story: thank you, thank you, thank you! I know that I give many thanks (every single chapter), but you guys really deserve the appreciation of giving up the time to read my story, favoriting it, and leaving reviews. It warms my heart to no end to know that my work is appreciated. So, thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Onwards with the story, for here is Chapter 6:**

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**Chapter 6 – A Rusty Fang**

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_Kagome!_

We were at a gloomy marsh. Sesshōmaru still had me in a tight grip, his strong hand wrapped powerfully around both of my wrists. At least he didn't tighten his grip to the point of pain.

Kagome was lying a bit further from the dead lake, bound in chains and looking like one who was paralyzed. Damnit. I had to get to her! I tried to pull my hands out of Sesshōmaru's grip, but he yanked me up from my kneeling position and stared intently into my eyes. My cheeks felt slightly flustered as his eyes once again held me captive. I stopped struggling; his eyes had so much power over me. He seemed to be satisfied with my reaction and turned his gaze away from me and over to the happenings at the dead lake of the gloomy marsh. When my eyes shifted back over, I once more spotted Kagome, and my protectiveness kicked in fiercely. Once again, I began to struggle, trying to get out of his hold.

"Kagome-chan!" I said desperately.

This clearly displeased Sesshōmaru. In less than a second, he had pulled me into him, using his strong right arm to hold me close to him. My back was pressed firmly towards his front, his armor digging into my back. But I kept fighting to get free of his powerful grip. His left hand went directly to my throat with his fingers pressing against my jaw, which made my head tip upwards. His grip tightened around my throat, threatening to suffocate me. His aura was powerful as he leaned over me, the corner of my eye caught his golden ones. His discontentment was evident in his eyes as he locked his gaze with me. I felt panicky; I knew that he was giving me a warning, but I had to get to Kagome! I tried to wiggle out of his hold.

His eyes seemed to then blaze with anger: "Stop!" he said icily to me, his hot breath landing on the shell of my ear.

I froze; his eyes clearly stated that he would kill me if I continued with my futile attempts. Tears began to gather in the corner of my eyes, but I stopped moving. Seeming to be satisfied, he let go of my throat, and soon after pushed me down to the dead earth. It hurt when I met the hard earth, my bruised ribs protesting. A silent gasp left my lips with the pain that sprouted at my right side.

Slowly I sat myself up on my knees, and then I spotted Kagome, still lying immobile with chains around her. Without thinking I tried to get up and run to her. But Sesshōmaru was having none of that. His presence intensified, and I cast a glance back at him. His fur moved on its own accord and wrapped around my torso, pinning my arms against my sides. The fur tightened around me, and my bruised ribs protested once more.

"Ngh!" I groaned with the pain.

I was trapped once more, with no way to escape. My green eyes sought out Sesshōmaru's golden eyes and I knew that it was my last chance. His eyes were staring so intently into mine, with red shimmering at the edge of the sclera of his normally golden orbs. I gasped silently. Though I wanted to tear my eyes away from his, I was unable to. Damn the kami for giving that mononoke such a strong hold on me.

But thankfully Sesshōmaru removed his eyes away from me and I was once more able to glance away from him. My eyes immediately sought after Kagome, and to my great relief, she was now free of the chains and sitting up on the ground. Soon after she crawled towards the lake, and that's when I spotted the woman, whom InuYasha claimed was his mother, embracing InuYasha. But to my disbelief, it seemed like the woman was merging his body into hers. And then I saw that her face wasn't a face; there were no eyes, mouth, nose… nothing that a face should have.

I knew that she wasn't human, and I should've trusted my instinct when I had picked up on her aura. I could have saved InuYasha and Kagome before all this happened. But I could only blame myself for my weakness. The weakness that Sesshōmaru was the cause of.

Right behind the no-faced woman, Jaken came up to them, holding his staff, which I now was able to see sported two faces; one was of a young woman and the other of an old man. Jaken and the woman were speaking with each other, but I was too far away to hear their words. Kagome crawled up behind Jaken, looking like one with a purpose and an under-development-plan on her mind.

Suddenly, Kagome stood up and stepped right on top of Jaken's head and then kicked him into the dead lake. She had a hold of the imp's two-headed staff. She then turned to the woman and tried to pull InuYasha out, by pulling at his silvery hair, and away from the no-faced woman. She seemed desperate. I could almost feel her desperation. But it didn't seem to have any effect: more and more of InuYasha became merged with the no-faced woman.

I shifted on the ground and felt the fur tighten around me in a warning.

_Damn you, Sesshōmaru! Why are you keeping me captive?_

I couldn't understand why he hadn't killed me yet. It surely would have been easier for him, rather than keeping me a hostage. If I just could get free of his grip. I inhaled sharply; the scent of nature that resided in his pelt rose with the intake of air. What a nice smell it was. Then I exhaled in a defeated sigh.

Kagome was yelling at the no-faced woman, but I was still too far away to hear her words. Then suddenly her attention turned to the dead lake. I was surprised when she beat the water surface with the two-headed staff. And I was even more shocked when InuYasha submerged from the woman's body, fully clothed and intact, like nothing had happened.

I was suddenly yanked up by the fur and I felt my body leave the dead and hard earth. Glancing up I saw Sesshōmaru fly over to where InuYasha, Kagome, and the no-faced woman were. He landed silently right behind them, setting me gently and soundlessly down to the ground, though he didn't let go of me.

"But all for the best, dear brother. Now I know where the grave lies," Sesshōmaru said pleased.

I swiftly moved my eyes up and saw Kagome's surprised face. Then I saw Sesshōmaru holding InuYasha up in the air with his left hand around InuYasha's neck. Kagome gasped with surprise, clearly not having registered us when we had landed right behind them.

"I never imagined that it could be in such a place …" Sesshōmaru said with his cold voice, though I was able to discern a certain fulfilment of the situation, "Can you imagine Sesshōmaru being so blind?"

I shifted my gaze to Kagome; whose attention was purely on the incapacitated InuYasha in Sesshōmaru's hand.

"Kagome-chan!" I shouted in desperation.

Her eyes swiftly landed on my captured state and gasped shocked: "Aiko-chan!"

I could feel multiple eyes on me, and I was pretty sure that both Sesshōmaru and InuYasha were staring at me with their respective emotions unknown to me. I once more tried to wiggle out of the fur that was wrapped around me, but I stopped almost as quickly as I had begun. The fur tightened around me, putting pressure on my bruised ribs and I groaned out in pain.

"Aiko!" Kagome yelled, clearly seeing the pain on my face.

"Sesshōmaru…" InuYasha then grounded out in anger.

"Trust father to hide his grave in such an odd place." Sesshōmaru said, clearly ignoring Kagome and me.

"'The _right_ black pearl' … Hmph," Sesshōmaru said arrogantly, "That must have taken a powerful bit of magic. He was determined to escape desecration, wasn't he?"

I shifted my gaze up at Sesshōmaru, seeing his self-satisfied grin on his face.

InuYasha grabbed onto Sesshōmaru's left hand – the one grasping InuYasha's neck – and growled angrily: "What kind of _lunacy_ are you babbling…?"

Sesshōmaru narrowed his eyes at InuYasha: "Was the secret entrusted to you without your knowledge? Come along, then …"

With sudden swiftness, Sesshōmaru jabbed two of his fingers of his right hand into InuYasha's right eye: "… and we'll visit father's grave together!"

"InuYasha-sama!" I heard an old-man's voice say with desperation.

My eyes quickly shifted over to Kagome, and upon her shoulder, was a small black speck jumping up and down. I felt the weak presence and recognized it as Myōga's.

"Ohh…" Kagome gasped with shock.

From InuYasha's eye, blood followed with the motion of Sesshōmaru's two clawed fingers as he withdrew them from InuYasha's eye. In between the bloodied fingers was a small black pearl.

"Stop it!" Kagome screamed at Sesshōmaru as he released his hold on InuYasha, who fell motionless to the ground.

"It's no wonder I couldn't find it no matter how thoroughly I scoured the earth…" Sesshōmaru said indifferently as he clutched the black pearl in his right hand.

"I only had one clue to the grave's whereabouts …" Sesshōmaru continued.

My eyes shifted over to InuYasha and Kagome; InuYasha was clutching his bleeding right eye.

"'A place one can see, yet cannot be seen … A place its own guardian can never look upon.'"

With a smirk on his lips, he showed the small black pearl to InuYasha, blood still clinging at the end of his two clawed fingers: "So clear now that the 'grave' is the black pearl that he conjured into your _right_ eye."

InuYasha then scowled at Sesshōmaru: "All this … for that pebble. Even giving that _witch_… the form of my mother…" then he jumped up and tried to attack Sesshōmaru: "You _won't_ get away with it!"

Sesshōmaru dodged InuYasha's attack by jumping up in the air, pulling me along with him with his fur. A shriek of surprise left my lips.

"I am rather busy. If you wish to delay me, I'll have to kill you," Sesshōmaru then said while he flexed his clawed fingers, readying to attack.

With his right hand, he swiped after InuYasha, who didn't have any chance of getting away from the attack.

_Oh, no!_ I thought fearfully as I thought that Sesshōmaru would kill InuYasha.

But to my surprise, the no-faced woman jumped up in front of InuYasha, taking Sesshōmaru's attack full force against her back. Her back was ravaged by Sesshōmaru's sharp claws, blood and cloth flying with Sesshōmaru's forceful swing. The only thing left of her was her head, an arm, and some meager pieces of clothes. I was totally paralyzed with utter shock of her action, and I didn't understand why she had done so.

"My… boy…" the no-faced woman said sorrowfully.

Then to my horror, Sesshōmaru stepped forcefully unto the no-faced woman's head, destroying it completely. I couldn't help myself from shaking with the horror that had just transpired.

_That's how easy he could kill me_, I thought grimly.

"Worthless fool," Sesshōmaru said coldly.

Then Kagome yelled in anger: "You… rotten… murdering…" but she stopped yelling.

I had a feeling that it was Myōga who had said something to her, but I couldn't hear it. The grass behind me ruffled, and I turned my head to see what it was. Jaken came through the knee-high dead grass.

"Clever lad that I am, m'Lord, I've found Nintōjō again!" Jaken jubilated over his find as he came over to us.

With his cold gaze, Sesshōmaru glanced over his shoulder and said nonchalantly: "Next time … you'll lose your own head with it."

This man was really cold and scary.

"Mm. How long have I awaited this moment…" Sesshōmaru then said as he glanced back at the black pearl in his hand.

He dropped the pearl to the ground, then reached his left hand behind him. Jaken immediately gave Sesshōmaru the Nintōjō and lifted it up in the air right above the black pearl. Then he jabbed the staff down on the black pearl. The old man's head lifted up and began to laugh, which was an awful sound to my ears.

"The old man's laughin' … that means the seal's a'crackin'!" Jaken exclaimed excitedly on the other side of Sesshōmaru.

Just as he had said it, black and purple light emerged from the black pearl, swirling around us. I closed my eyes as the light hurt my eyes. Suddenly, I felt a change around me. When I opened my eyes again, we were hovering up in the air, with me dangling from his fur that was still holding me captive. And right underneath us, a giant corpse of bones with an old armor on sat grandiosely on the rocky mountainside. The skull was open at the mouth, showing off the sharp fangs it housed, though one canine was missing.

_Is that … Sesshōmaru's and InuYasha's … father?_ I thought puzzled.

Soon, we flew down and in through the open mouth of the cranium. When we were further inside the skeleton, Sesshōmaru let go of me, letting me dump down on the hundreds of skulls and bones that resided inside the ginormous skeleton. Then Sesshōmaru and Jaken walked closer to some sort of altar, where a rusty sword was struck down into it.

"At last I have found you… the blade impaled in my dear father's remains…" Sesshōmaru said reverently as he stepped closer to the sword, "…said to possess the power to cut down a hundred yōkai with a single pass…"

_Was all this freakshow that's happened just for a rusty sword?_ I thought with disbelief of the whole situation. I stood up and glanced around for a possible getaway.

He wrapped his hand around the tsuka while speaking to it: "The 'steal-cleaving fang' … Tessaiga."

Jaken then said: "Carved from your Lord father's own fang. They say it was so the holdin' of it is just the same as inheritin' his yōkai powers!"

When Sesshōmaru tried to pull out the blade, lightning erupted from the tsuka and scorched his hand. He immediately removed his hand from the tsuka and stared at his smoking hand.

"Eh… 'Twon't come free…?!" Jaken exclaimed surprised over what had just happened.

Sesshōmaru kept his eyes on his hand as he emotionlessly said: "How very like father. A shield spell to keep it 'safe'."

Then I heard InuYasha's enraged yell: "_SESSHŌMARU!_"

I turned towards the voice and spotted InuYasha jumping down from the giant ribcage of the skeleton we were in, and Kagome was holding on to some big roots that had grown in between the ribs.

"Taste my _claws!_" InuYasha yelled as he prepared an attack against Sesshōmaru.

However, Sesshōmaru jumped out of the way in the last second and landed on the ornament at the altar of the rusty sword, Tessaiga.

"Kagome-chan," I exclaimed as I ran towards her, while she tried to climb down from the rib she had been sitting on.

She glanced over her shoulder and her brown eyes met my green ones, happy to see that I wasn't in Sesshōmaru's clutch anymore.

"Aiko-chan!" she shouted out with pure exhilaration and seemed to hurry her way down from the ribcage with the help of the giant roots.

"What is this, InuYasha? Have you come to dig your own grave?"

I heard Sesshōmaru's taunting, but chose to ignore him, my focus was only on Kagome.

"Or might you too have come to try for our father's steel fang?"

"The fang…?" InuYasha said in a slow and asking manner.

Then I heard Myōga speaking, though I couldn't see where he was: "InuYasha-sama! Hop to it!"

"Myōga-jīji…?" InuYasha asked surprised, apparently seeing the flea-yōkai, "What…?"

"Sesshōmaru …" Myōga then said, not giving InuYasha time to ask his question, "You couldn't, could you? YOU COULDN'T PULL IT _OUT_!"

My eyes were on Kagome, whom slowly but steadily came closer to the ground, though I couldn't ignore the others' conversation.

"And are you suggesting … that my brother can?" Sesshōmaru asked Myōga arrogantly.

"You bet he can! Why else'd your Lord father hide his tomb in _his_ eye, eh?!" Myōga said annoyed, then said to InuYasha in a kinder tone: "Jump on it, InuYasha-sama! Now!"

"What do I care about some rusted hunk of metal?!" InuYasha exclaimed annoyedly, "Sesshōmaru! I've had _enough_ of you walking on me like I'm _dirt_!"

Then I heard a fight break out, and I worriedly turned my gaze towards the brothers. Sesshōmaru had just avoided InuYasha's attack.

"Your blows are wild, brother," he said to InuYasha, his voice cold yet his words taunting.

InuYasha then growled at Sesshōmaru and jumped after him again, "I'll _kill_ you!"

But once more, Sesshōmaru dodged InuYasha, which resulted in InuYasha falling upon the hundreds of skulls and bones that covered the ground beneath us.

"_Damn_ you!" InuYasha exclaimed in frustration and turned towards Sesshōmaru once more.

"Your attacks are as infantile as ever."

Sesshōmaru just knew what words to toss after InuYasha to taunt him, and it didn't help that his voice was so aloof. Even I felt infuriated by his statements.

"Shut up!" InuYasha yelled.

Then Kagome yelled with irritation, clearly frustrated over the situation: "InuYasha! Get the stupid _sword_!"

This caught InuYasha by surprise as he uttered her name with wonder lacing it: "Kagome…"

"Your brother couldn't pull it out, right?!" Kagome yelled down to him from her root, and I couldn't help but look up at her as she held her encouraging speech for InuYasha: "Meaning if _you_ do it easily, you'll totally crush his pride, _RIGHT_?! You gonna pass _that_ up?!"

I glanced back at InuYasha as he looked baffled by Kagome's little speech. I myself felt proud of her, for being more helpful than I was at the moment – all I could do was glance between the different people within the skeleton of InuYasha's and Sesshōmaru's father. InuYasha walked over to the altar with the rusty sword.

"What do you think, brother? Would that just eat your guts out?" InuYasha asked Sesshōmaru while he kept walking towards the altar.

"You will never succeed," Sesshōmaru replied emotionlessly.

"Heh," InuYasha threw his words smugly back at Sesshōmaru, "All of a sudden …" he continued as he took a hold of the tsuka, "I think I _want_ this blade!"

Then InuYasha roared with effort as he tried to pull out the rusty blade. We all waited with bated breaths. But I was caught by surprise, when InuYasha wasn't able to pull the rusty blade from the altar. That was so anticlimactic. I could only gape at InuYasha as he still had his hand on the tsuka. At least he didn't get electrocuted like Sesshōmaru did. InuYasha glanced down at his shoulder and picked up a little black speck in between his clawed fingers.

"Well. I couldn't pull it out… could I?" InuYasha said in a flabbergasted manner at the little black speck between his fingers, which I figured out was Myōga.

"Thank you for that amusing interlude," Sesshōmaru said coldly, then he jumped after InuYasha: "No _half-breed_ will ever possess the Tessaiga … do you understand?!"

He then lifted his hand, readying an attack against InuYasha: "Now allow my poison talons to _end _this!"

Then he struck after InuYasha, green poisonous gas emerged from his hand and hit InuYasha on his arm. The fabric of InuYasha's suikan began to melt by the contact of Sesshōmaru's poison.

"Augh!" InuYasha exclaimed in agony.

I began to feel nervous and I immediately glanced up at Kagome, worried for her safety.

"You will not escape," Sesshōmaru said aloofly as he continued to leap after InuYasha's jumping form.

Then Jaken spoke, near where Kagome and I were – I had once again completely forgotten that he existed: "Nyeh heh heh! I'll grant m'Lord a little help…"

He lifted the Nintōjō, ready to use it, but before he could do anything, Kagome jumped down on him and landed on his face. Then they began to grabble with Nintōjō, shouting at each other.

"You little _toad_," Kagome shouted at Jaken, while he shouted: "You little _witch_," at Kagome.

I ran towards them, but before I could intervene, Jaken pushed Kagome away, yelling: "I shan't lose _this_ time!"

She landed at the altar with the rusty sword just as I tackled Jaken, grabbing a hold on Nintōjō and pushing him down onto the bones at our feet.

"You _disgusting_ little IMP!" I roared angrily at him, "How _dare_ you try harm Kagome-chan?!"

He seemed utterly astonished at my sudden aggressiveness, not at all expecting me to attack him. His big yellow eyes seemed to bulge out from his eye sockets as I almost strangled him with his staff.

"InuYasha!" Kagome then yelled with a panicked voice, and I glanced back at her.

She had the rusty sword in hand, and it was not stuck in the altar anymore. She had pulled it out. I was perplexed that she had managed to pull it out of the altar, considering that neither InuYasha nor Sesshōmaru had been able to pull it out.

"I'm sorry … it just slipped out…" Kagome stood with Tessaiga in both her hands, apologizing to us for some unknown reason.

Jaken squawked from underneath me: "'Tisn't … 'tisn't _true_…!"

My eyes were only focused on Kagome, and I slacken my grip on Jaken's staff and he managed to pull it out of my grasp and crawl away from underneath me.

"If the great Sesshōmaru-sama couldn't … and the flea-bitten InuYasha couldn't … how in seven hells could _she_ do it?" Jaken squawked again as he moved away from me.

I stood up and let my gaze glance over them all. Kagome stood still at the altar with the rusty blade in hand, looking intently over at InuYasha and Sesshōmaru. I followed her gaze and looked at the pair, who had stopped in mid-fight, both glaring at Kagome – Sesshōmaru with his cold golden eyes, and InuYasha with a look of utter surprise. Then InuYasha shifted his gaze back to Sesshōmaru.

"Never take your eyes off _ME_!" he then yelled as he attacked Sesshōmaru once again.

But as had been every response to InuYasha's attacks. Sesshōmaru dodged it and InuYasha's attack hit the bones that once were underneath Sesshōmaru. One second he was right next to InuYasha, then the next he was standing in front of Kagome. This mononoke was super-fast!

"You," Sesshōmaru then said indifferently and Kagome gasped at the presence of Sesshōmaru standing right in front of her.

_This isn't good_, I thought as I could feel something ominous were on the rise.

"What are you … that you were able to draw the Tessaiga?" Sesshōmaru asked her in his usual cold tone.

Kagome took a step back and held Tessaiga in front of her defensively: "D-don't come any closer! I'll slice you!"

_Move your feet, Aiko!_ I thought desperately to myself, but I wasn't able to do so.

I was frozen to my spot, unable to act on the upcoming attack I knew would be made.

"Get away from her, Sesshōmaru! She's not a part of this!" InuYasha yelled at Sesshōmaru while he ran towards them.

"InuYasha!" Kagome screamed desperately as she glanced past Sesshōmaru and at him.

_MOVE IT AIKO!_ I yelled internally at myself.

"Alas, I'm afraid that she is," Sesshōmaru lifted his right hand up in front of him and it began to glow a sickly green color, "Merely by being your companion."

Then he struck his glowing hand towards Kagome; "My talons bid you … Goodbye."

Kagome became enveloped in the poison from Sesshōmaru's hand.

_No!_

"No," I whispered as I felt the tears stream down my cheeks.

"No," I whispered again, and I fell to my knees.

_This can't be happening!_ I thought grievously and clutched my dark blond hair in between my fingers, pulling harshly at the hairs I held onto.

Hot tears streamed down my cold cheeks. Then something primal came over me. I became filled with rage, and I screamed my agony out. My temperature rose as my blood ran fiercely in my veins. She was gone, and I couldn't protect her. And she _needed_ the protection! I couldn't think anymore, my body just reacted on its own. I stood up from my kneeling position and slowly pulled out Ōginsairensā from its saya. With hot tears streaming down my cheeks, I slowly shifted my gaze up at the one responsible for my friends death: Sesshōmaru. Then I saw nothing but red as I charged at him. I had no control and I wasn't able to see. All I could feel was the rage in me and the movements of my body. I jumped, then stepped sideways while slashing my sword at an opponent I couldn't see. I dodged an attack, by moving my right shoulder backwards, then I duck down and angled my sword upwards.

*_CLASH*_,_ *CLASH*_,_ *CLASH*_.

I heard as the steel in my hands meet something equally as sharp. I leaned back over and avoided another attack. Then I swiped my sword upwards from my lower right. Another jump, this time backwards. The sound of bones being crushed met my ears again. I made a downward slash, and something had a hold on my sword. Then the smell of blood met my nose. And it felt exhilarating; I needed to draw more blood.

"_**KILL!**_" I heard something growl.

Something in me wanted the blood on my blade… no, not just on my blade. I wanted to bathe in it.

"_Aiko!_"

I stopped up immediately, surprised at the sound of that voice. It couldn't be possible. I saw her being killed by Sesshōmaru's poisonous claws. I felt my head turn towards the sound. And there she stood. Unharmed and with the rusty blade still in her hands. I could see again, and I saw only her. She was alive and I felt relieved.

"Kagome-chan?" I whispered, then I felt exhaustion taking over me.

The bloodlust disappeared completely and left me drained of energy. I took a step towards her, then my sight began to turn black. Unconsciousness was winning.

"You're alive," I whispered tiredly, my voice hoarse. Then I felt myself fall forward. And then I had fallen into oblivion.

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**A/N: And that's that for this time. Did you guys enjoy it? I hope you did. Anyways, next chapter on next Sunday, as always. See you then.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Predicament

**A/N: Hello my dear readers. First off is all my thank-you's, starting with a big thanks to KimiKitteh, Ruyuz, and . , for joining the fave-fam. Thank you xXRitz-aholicXx for your review. Thanks to those who have my story on their Alert-list. And lastly, thanks to all of you for reading my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**I hope that this chapter is pleasing, though I know that it may seem a bit tame compared to the previous chapters, but you get a bit more insight of Aiko's background. So onwards and enjoy, for here is chapter 7:**

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**Chapter 7 – Predicament**

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"_Aiko!"_

I felt completely drained. My body felt as heavy as led, and every part of my body hurt immensely.

"M'Lord, what're we gonna do about this human?" I heard a squeaky voice say.

I knew that voice, but I couldn't quite place it.

_Where's Kagome?_

"Hn … She's awake," a deep and cold voice said.

But that voice – I could recognize it anywhere: _Sesshōmaru!_

I had to really concentrate on opening my eyes; my eyelids were so heavy that it hurt to try and open them. But I had to open them. I had to find out if it really was Sesshōmaru that had spoken, and that it wasn't just a fickle of my imagination. And I needed to find Kagome.

Finally, I managed to open my eyes. At first it was really dark, but as my sight began to focus, I could see something white and extremely fluffy.

_Isn't that Sesshōmaru's fur?_ I asked myself.

Then I let my eyes glide up to the owner of the fluffy fur and right next to me sat none other than: "Sesshōmaru…?" I asked in puzzlement, my voice hoarse and whispery.

My throat felt completely dry. He was glancing at me from the corner of his eye, his visible golden orb was cold and calculating. He didn't answer me.

_But if he was there, then where was Kagome?_

"Where am I?" I asked weakly.

I once again found myself spellbound by his eyes, completely unable to turn my eyes away from his magnetic golden ones. He kept staring at me from the corner of his eye, his gaze unwavering.

"Hn," was all Sesshōmaru said as he shifted his gaze away from me and closed his eyes.

He wasn't going to give me any kinds of answer. But I had to know where Kagome was – I needed to get back to her. That's when I registered that I was lying on my left side, Ōginsairensā held tightly in my right hand, unsheathed.

Why was I here again? My memory seemed clouded as I tried to think back on what had happened. All I could remember was the rage … and the bloodlust … then Kagome yelling out my name… Why was I beginning to have these episodes of memory loss?

With a groan, I rolled onto my stomach. My whole body was screaming at me to rest, but I had to get back to Kagome. I forced myself up from my lying position, ending up on all fours. Sweat began to trickle down my temple as this little bit of movement claimed all of my energy.

"You imprudent human, what d'you think you're doing?!" a squeaky voice yelled at me from somewhere behind me.

I panted heavily as I forced myself up so that I was standing. My legs were shaky, and I had to use the rocky wall as support. Was I in a cave?

"I need … to find … Kagome," I panted heavily.

My eyes sought out for the exit, which was past Sesshōmaru. Slowly I began to shuffle towards the exit, my legs even shakier as I let go of the wall. I didn't make it far. After only a couple of steps, something wrapped around my body. My sword fell from my hand with the sudden motion of being pulled backwards. I closed my eyes as I prepared myself for a hard landing, which I thought I would meet. But it didn't happen. When I opened my eyes again, they were immediately locked with those cold golden orbs of Sesshōmaru. Then I saw that it was his fur that had a hold of me once again, pressing my arms up against my chest. I tried to wiggle myself free, but I felt so weary and exhausted.

"Let go of me," I said hoarsely.

Sesshōmaru's eyes seemed to flare up with annoyance at my hoarse command. I still tried to get out of his hold, but with each passing second, I became more and more fatigued. Soon, I barely had enough energy to keep my eyes open.

"I need … to get back to … Kagome," I whispered exhaustedly.

Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed around my throat, putting pressure upon my windpipe, which made it hard for me to breathe.

"You will do no such thing," Sesshōmaru said aloofly to me, still staring into my eyes.

I was panting and gasping after air, and he lessened the pressure on my throat, but he kept his hand there, showing off his dominance over me.

"… Am I … a hostage?"

I felt tears gather at the corners of my eyes, threatening to stream down my cheeks at any given moment. I wanted to tear my eyes away from his, but I couldn't. His eyes were unreadable; the only emotion I could see was his ever present coldness.

"Why?"

I hadn't meant to ask him, but it simply came on its own volition. His golden eyes seemed to light up with annoyance, and I couldn't help the fearful gasp that left my lips.

"Enough," he said icily.

I swallowed heavily, and then the tears escaped their confinements. I couldn't hold them at bay any longer. I missed Kagome. And just as suddenly as taking a breath of air, I figured out my position. I had literally been kidnaped, and I felt scared as this thought came to life. The salty tears fell for real now, silently yet consistently. I didn't want to cry, but I couldn't hold the tears at bay. My body shook as I tried to keep in the wails of despair that wanted to escape my lips. And yet I still couldn't for the light of me avert my gaze from his nor could I just close my eyes and mentally shield myself from the cold stare.

Abruptly, he let go of my neck and stared up at the ceiling for a moment, to then close his eyes. Just as I became free from his stare, I closed my eyes and buried my face into my hands. Sniffling a bit as I silently wept with hopelessness. I didn't know how long I kept crying. One moment I was weeping quietly, then the next I was embraced by a numb darkness, too drained and exhausted to keep myself awake.

~oOo~

It was cold and shivers wrecked my body. I was lying on something hard, and the surface felt freezingly cold beneath me. For a moment, I was confused, but then it came back to me; I was Sesshōmaru's prisoner. I opened my eyes and saw only a rocky wall and ground, and it was dark. Sluggishly, I sat myself up and glanced around. I could only see Jaken, the little green imp-creature who was Sesshōmaru's henchman. He was asleep, with a small snot-bubble coming out of his nose – shrinking when he breathed in and enlarging when he breathed out. His snores were soft and nearly non-existing. In front of him there was a small fireplace, with the remnants of burned wood and small embers. It was nearly extinguished. My eyes continued to sweep over the place, and at the mouth of the cave it was dark; it must've been nighttime. On the ground, a few feet away from where I was sitting, lied Ōginsairensā, with its steel glimmering warmly with the low illumination of the fireplace. It was lying where I had dropped it when Sesshōmaru had grabbed me with his fur.

I couldn't see Sesshōmaru anywhere in the cave.

I got up from the ground and silently walked over to Ōginsairensā and picked it up. At closer inspection, I could see that there was blood on the blade.

Did I hurt someone? Was it during my blackout back in the remains of Sesshōmaru's and InuYasha's father?

I would have to clean it, but my thoughts drifted back to Kagome. With her on my mind, I sheathed the blade back into its saya on my back. My gaze shifted back to Jaken, who was still sound asleep. This was an ideal opportunity to escape, because Sesshōmaru wasn't anywhere near in sight. I couldn't sense his presence either. With quick yet soundless steps, I exited the cave I was in.

My eyes glided up to the sky. There were tiny white specks sparkling beautifully upon the black canvas of the heavens and a white disc – almost a full moon – hung up amongst the brilliance of the stars. So beautiful; back home I never saw a night sky like this. I shook my head from side to side, shaking my thoughts out of my head. I needed to get back to Kagome.

I had no clue of where I was, but I didn't think heavily on it as I picked a direction and ran. My legs still felt weak, but I pushed it away from my mind as I ran through some bushes and in between some trees. Clearly, I was in a forest, but I had no clue of what forest I was in. My breathing was heavy as I kept running, not taking in my surroundings.

I must have run for fifteen minutes or so, when I stopped up so that I could catch my breath. I leaned a bit fore over, resting my hands on my knees as I breathed heavily. Sweat was running down my forehead and down my back, making my osode stick to the clammy skin of my back.

"Where do you think you're going?" I heard from right behind me, the voice deep and cold.

_That voice!_ I thought as I hurriedly turned around, but no one was behind me. Then I felt his presence.

_Right behind me!_

Before I could turn around and face him, I was slung up against a tree. The bark of said tree bit into my back and I gasped with the pain I felt. In less than a second, a hand grasped around my throat and pushed me further up and against the tree. The hand tightened around my delicate neck and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I opened my eyes and they landed on a well-known mononoke.

"Sesshōmaru!" I gasped out, my hands seeking out the hand around my throat, "Ngh!" I then groaned out with pain as he tightened his grip on my throat.

He didn't say a thing. He only stared deep into my eyes; anger eminent in his usually cold golden eyes; he wasn't happy. And I should have known that he wouldn't be far away from the cave. What an idiot I was, but I couldn't help it. I had this innate instinct to risk my life for Kagome. She was like a sister to me, and as her _sister_, I had to do everything in my power to protect her. But I had to admit that I was a fool for risking my own hide to such a degree as I was doing. And besides, she had InuYasha … or at least, I hoped that InuYasha would protect her in my stead.

Sesshōmaru's face then moved closer to mine, our noses almost touching each other's. I gasped and felt my cheeks reddening. He was too close for comfort.

"I didn't give you permission to wander off," he said indifferently to me.

His hot breath landed on my face and his eyes narrowed at me.

"I'm not your property!" I exclaimed bravely.

I apparently had more of my foolishness at the ready because he was clearly not amused by my comment. His hand tightened yet more, and his sharp claws dug into the thin skin of my neck. Remarkably though, they didn't pierce the skin.

"Argh!" I gasped out with the pain, breathing shallowly as he squeezed my windpipe.

"Don't talk back at me," he said freezingly.

There was a warning in his tone, but I felt fed up with his crap.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I gasped out between my shallow breaths, "Why am I being held against my will? Why haven't you just killed me yet?!"

He glared murderously at me: "That's none of your concern."

"Bullshit!" I sneered at him, "Clearly there is something you need from me, since you haven't killed me!"

"Silence!" he growled at me and clenched his fist tighter around my throat.

I couldn't breathe. Desperately I tried to fight his hold on me. My legs were kicking at him, yet I couldn't hit him. And my nails dug into his hand, but I couldn't draw blood. Blackness began to creep in from the corners of my eyes. He was suffocating me, and I was going to black out soon.

Then he let go of me and I fell down to the ground, gasping desperately for the sweet air that quickly rushed into my lungs. My hands sought up to my sore throat, which hurt immensely. His grip would leave marks on my skin; I was pretty sure of it. Then I registered that my cheeks were wet. Tears had been running down my heated skin, and I was quite sure that those tears were from anger more than fright.

"Get up," he growled threateningly from above me, the smallest amount of coldness was laced into his words.

I glanced up at him from my crumbled position in front of him, my green eyes meeting the intense stare of his golden ones. I felt angry at him, and completely confused … I couldn't grasp why I was in this situation.

"Don't make me repeat what I just said," he warned me coldly.

Reluctantly I got up, using the tree behind me as support. Once I was standing in front of him, he turned his back towards me and began to walk off. I knew better than to defy him again – at least right away – so I followed him against my will.

We walked in silence, with a tension so thick that you could cut it with a dull butter knife. I was left to my own thoughts, and dear, how draining those thoughts were. I kept thinking about my captured situation: why had he captured me?

I simply couldn't grasp it. And I was left in the dark; he wouldn't tell me what he wanted.

I hoped that Kagome was alright and safe, and that InuYasha was protecting her with all his might.

The wind swayed gently, and something in front of me caught my attention. Sesshōmaru's left sleeve of his kimono billowed freely with the wind as if the sleeve was empty. Thinking back on the blood on my sword, I began to panic. Had I harmed him?

"Your arm…" I asked nervously.

He stopped immediately at my words, but he didn't turn to look at me. He only shifted his head slightly towards me like he was lending me his ear, awaiting my question.

"… Was it me?" I whispered worriedly.

His head turned forward like he knew that I had asked my question.

"No," he said emotionlessly and began to walk again, indicating that we had nothing more to discuss.

I let a gentle sigh slip from my lips, then I followed him once again.

_If it wasn't me, then who?_ I then asked myself, but I didn't give voice to my question.

I could only assume that it happened under my semi-blackout or when I was passed out.

Minutes ticked by and then I saw the cave that I had escaped from. We walked into the cave, and I spotted Jaken at the fireplace. He was still soundly asleep, just like I had left him. I stopped up at the entrance of the cave, but Sesshōmaru continued on inside. He walked over to Jaken, his strides elegant and powerful. Then he stopped up in front of Jaken and stared down at the little imp's sleeping form. Without saying a word, he stomped forcefully on his head, squashing the imp down against the cave floor.

Jaken squeaked up in pain and shock, not having expected to be awoken in such a manner. I could only stare at the occurrence.

"Jaken," Sesshōmaru said coldly.

"M'Lord?!" Jaken squawked from underneath Sesshōmaru's boot.

"Next time," Sesshōmaru said aloofly, "do what I tell you to do."

"Yes, Sesshōmaru-sama," Jaken squawked once more.

Sesshōmaru then stepped off of Jaken and gracefully walked over to the opposite wall of the cave and sat down. He bended his right knee and placed his right arm on top of said knee. Then he send me a stare, wordlessly commanding me to get inside as well. And I abided his command, my every step echoing in the quiet cave. Then I sat down at the spot I had been sleeping on when I first was here, right next to Sesshōmaru. I sat in the lotus position and pulled forth my sword from my obi – both the blade and saya. I let it rest on my lap as I pulled off my sack from my shoulder. Rummaging through it, I found the maintenance kit for my sword. While being here, I might as well take care of my blade; it needed to be cleaned from the blood on it.

I could feel Sesshōmaru's eyes resting on me, but I ignored him as I cleaned my weapon. Cleaning my blade always seemed to calm me, yet it also filled me with so much sorrow. The sword was the only thing I had left of my father.

But the pressure of Sesshōmaru's eyes made it so that I was unable to concentrate on the project at hand. It was annoying to say the least. Sighing, I turned my head towards him and immediately my eyes met his. Those eyes were so magnetic and always made me unable to glance away.

"You're bleeding," he said coldly.

I was slightly baffled at his statement because I hadn't expected it.

"What?" I asked confused.

He didn't give me an answer. His head turned to look at Jaken.

"Jaken."

Said imp lifted his head up, staring at Sesshōmaru with big bulging yellow eyes.

"Yes, Sesshōmaru-sama?" Jaken asked in his squeaky voice.

"Tend to the girl's wounds," Sesshōmaru said indifferently as he closed his eyes.

I sighed irritated: "I feel fine!"

I turned back to taking care of my sword.

"Be quiet," Sesshōmaru said coldly and I felt his eyes on me once again.

I heard Jaken shuffle over to me and he stopped up in front of me. My eyes shifted up to the imp in front of me.

"Go away," I said in a cold voice and turned back to polishing my sword.

This annoyed Jaken immensely: "Obey Sesshōmaru-sama's words, you filthy human!"

I ignored him to my best capability, but that blasted toad wasn't having any of it. He kicked my knee as hard as he could, which weren't that hard; it felt like a kid had kicked me.

"I said go away!" I then said more pointedly, still working on my sword.

I heard the shuffling of fabric as Sesshōmaru got up from his position. Jaken scrambled away from me, giving room for his lord. A heavier shadow befell me, and I sighed out once more as I defeatedly looked up at the looming form above me.

"This cave reeks of your blood … It's repulsive," Sesshōmaru said icily, a warning imbedded in his words.

"I don't care!" I exclaimed with irritation, "I feel fine, so leave me alone!"

Deep down, I knew that I was only making the situation worse for me, but I felt more than pissed off with all of this.

"Undress!"

Sesshōmaru's words was more than freezing, but I chose to ignore my instincts that wanted to obey him.

"What the hell do you think I am?! I'm not gonna undress, just because you want me to!" I shouted at him angrily.

"Don't force me!" he growled at me and stared angrily down at me.

I placed my sword and maintenance kit next to me and then I jumped up as fast as I could, anger rolling off me in waves. This guy really pissed me off at that moment.

"I'm not forcing you to do anything!" I shouted at him, right in his face.

And I shouldn't have done that. His eyes became tinged with red and I knew that I was screwed. Faster than I could react to it, he turned me around and pushed me up against the rocky surface of the cave wall. The air was knocked out of my lungs as the jagged ridges of the cave wall dug uncomfortably into my breasts and face. Then I felt his hand grab around the neckline on the back of my osode.

Before I could protest, he tore the fabric, revealing my scarred back for all to see. I gasped as it was cold when the chilly air of the cave hit my naked back. His hand then snaked around my throat, grabbing it tightly and forced my head up with his fingers pressed against my jaw.

"Next time, you'll do as I tell you to do," I heard him growl into my ears.

I withheld the whimper that threatened to escape my lips. Then he let go of my neck and forced me down to the ground, by pushing down on my shoulder. I landed harshly on my knees.

"Jaken."

Sesshōmaru's voice was back to its usual tone: deep and emotionless.

"Yes, Sesshōmaru-sama," Jaken said reverently and scampered over to me.

My hands clenched around the shattered pieces of my osode, holding the destroyed pieces up in front of my naked chest. I closed my eyes and felt the tears once again roll down my heated cheeks. For the last twenty-four hours, I had cried more than I had done in the last three years, and I sarcastically thought that they would have dried up by now.

Behind me I felt Jaken get to work, cleaning my back with a clean cloth. Then I felt the sting of pain, but I didn't hiss out in discomfort; I was too stubborn to show any weakness to them. I ignored Jaken as best as I could while he worked on my back. He didn't speak to me, and I appreciated it for the time being. Slowly I let my eyes open, and I immediately caught sight of the ripped osode. Where it had been torn, it was completely soaked with blood. My blood. I must have been bleeding a lot, yet I didn't feel any effect of blood loss.

Then a thought ran through my brain at full force. Sesshōmaru had seen my scarred back. What did he think of it?

I suddenly felt extremely embarrassed about it. My back was marred with deep scars, scars that I didn't want to think about. Those scars were only bad memories for me. Memories that I desperately wanted to forget had ever happened.

Jaken cleared his throat at me, and I knew that he only needed to bandage the wounds. Reluctantly I righted myself and let go of the torn fabric. It fell down to my lap and I was bare from waist up. My cheeks tinged red with embarrassment as I felt Sesshōmaru's eyes on me, but to my best attempts, I ignored them and stared coldly at the rocky surface in front of me. I felt the soft fabric of the bandage being wrapped around me, ultimately covering my breasts as well. Jaken made sure of not touching my skin as much as possible. I guessed that he was disgusted with the idea of taking care of a human; me.

Soon enough, he was done and left my side. I glanced down at my bandaged front, my breasts seeming smaller now that the fabric was pressing the fatty flesh tightly into my chest. Then I spotted the bloodied fabrics of my once whole osode. I had a feeling that the blood came from the wounds from when I battled the centipede yōkai and had been aggravated when Sesshōmaru forced me up against that tree in the forest.

I dug into my sack and pulled out the clean osode in it – the last one I had. Then I tore the remnants of the old osode and wrapped the obi off of me. Standing up, I donned the fresh and clean one, tying the obi back on. All of this I did with my back turned towards them. When everything was in place, I grabbed the torn fabric and walked over to the fireplace. I felt their eyes on me; Jaken's were incredulously observing me while Sesshōmaru's felt calculating. I stopped up in front of the fire, which was now alive again, and tossed the bloodied rags into the fire. The blood sizzled as the fires licked at it, but soon the ruined osode would be burned to ashes. I stared into the fire, observing it as the flames did their work.

"Jaken," I then said as I looked up at him.

His yellow eyes were narrowed at me, observing me with intent and distain. Then I bowed slightly to him.

"Thank you," I said numbly – I had to acknowledge his help of taking care of my wounds.

"Tch," he scoffed at me, "Filthy mortal, I only did what m'Lord asked me to do."

He folded his hands up in front of his chest and turned his head to the side with closed eyes: "If it was for me, I would've left you bleeding!"

I scowled at him: "Just take my gratitude …" I then turned around and sauntered over to my spot.

"Stupid toad," I mumbled under my breath.

When I was back at my spot, I sat down and continued to clean my sword, which I had been interrupted in doing with this whole 'you're bleeding'-dilemma. I felt both of their stares, but I chose to ignore them. Within a few seconds, there was only room in my mind for the sword in my hands. I cleaned the dried blood off and wondered whom the blood had belonged to. Deep down, I knew that it was Sesshōmaru's, but I couldn't say how or why. It had happened when I had my semi-blackout, and I couldn't for the life of me remember what had happened.

When the blood was gone, I began to polish it with the chōji oil. My thoughts then strayed to Kagome. How was she? Was she alright?

I sighed as I wouldn't know if she was alright until I saw her again. I was pretty sure that I would see her again because I had a feeling that Sesshōmaru would go after InuYasha again. How come Sesshōmaru hated his brother so?

Well, it seemed like the feelings were mutual. But why?

They shared the same father, yet they had different mothers. InuYasha was a hanyō, while Sesshōmaru was a full-blooded yōkai. And Sesshōmaru hated humans, which InuYasha's mother was. Could it be that his hate stemmed from their father had been with a mortal woman and conceived InuYasha?

I then thought of my own blood. I wasn't pure Japanese. My mother had been from somewhere in Scandinavia and she had met my father when she was a young high-schooler as an exchange student. I remembered the stories dad had told me. They had at first hated each other, but their feelings changed towards one another. They became a pair just before my mother had to go back home, her exchange-course over. But they kept in touch, and when they both got older, my mother moved to Japan to be with him. They got married and then they had me. But then my mother got sick and she died when I was almost six.

That was then I met Kagome and her family. Dad was good friends with Kagome's father, and I sort of got adopted into their family, especially after both Kagome's father and my father died.

I was done polishing Ōginsairensā and sheathed it. Then I held the blade up in front of my face and studied the beautiful weapon in hand. The only thing I had to remind me of my dad. Gently I kissed the tsuka, then I leaned my head against it and closed my eyes. I felt the prickling of tears behind my eyelids begging to be released.

"I miss you, otō-san," I whispered against the tsuka.

Then I felt immensely worn-out and lied down on my side with my back towards Sesshōmaru. Hugging my sword tightly to my chest, I silently wept myself to sleep.

~oOo~

At some point during my sleep, I began to freeze, with shivers wrecking my body. I felt myself awake, but before I could completely wake up, I felt something warm and fluffy envelop me. A sigh of content escaped my lips as I snuggled deeper into the fluffiness around me.

Just before I dozed off again, a tired: "Thank you," escaped my lips, and then sleep had claimed me once more.

~oOo~

"Wake up, you stinking mortal!" the squeaky voice of Jaken rung in my ears.

I groaned, still half asleep, as I gave him a poisonous glare through my heavy-lidded eyes. He took a step away from me like my glare alone could kill him. Heh, quite amusing that he seemed to be afraid of me. I sat up and expected something to fall into my lap, but there was nothing.

_Huh? I could've sworn that I had an extremely fluffy blanket on me during the night … must've been my imagination._

Pulling my thought aside I glanced around and spotted Sesshōmaru at the mouth of the cave, his eyes on the horizon.

"Hurry up, before Sesshōmaru-sama leaves us behind!" Jaken squawked at me.

I sent another vehement glare after Jaken, who jumped up in the air with fright. Nintōjō was held protectively in front of him. I couldn't help the half a smirk that formed on my lips at the sight of little Jaken scared of me. But I chose to get up and strapped my sword to the back of my obi. Then I grabbed my sack and hung it over my shoulder. My eyes shifted back to Sesshōmaru who then began to walk, his strides graceful and powerful and the air around him was that of a royal. Come to think of it, Jaken always said m'Lord or Sesshōmaru-sama as if Sesshōmaru was of royal blood. Was he?

I shrugged and then followed after Sesshōmaru, as I wasn't in the mood of arguing or getting on his wrong side. Jaken then followed after us, and hurriedly passed me to walk right behind Sesshōmaru.

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**A/N: Ta-da! That's it for this time. I really hope that you enjoyed it. I would love to hear your thoughts, so if you wouldn't mind, please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. Until next Sunday, have a great time, and try to avoid getting kidnapped (lol).**

**A/N – A few glossaries:**

_**Chōji**_** – traditional oil used to maintain a katana. It usually consists of 99% mineral oil and 1% clove oil for fragrance.**


	8. Chapter 8 - A Dark Past

**A/N: Hello my dear readers, finally it's Sunday, so that means a new chapter. I really have come to enjoy my Sundays immensely, since I've begun uploading my story. Now for the thanks: first off, a big thanks to kaitlynivey96, angelicmuseofnature, AnimeObsessor712, AndreutzaAndy, and SUPAfast JeLLyFisH for adding my story to their faves. Welcome to the fave-fam. And thanks to those who have my story on their Alert-list and to all of you for reading my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: This chapter contains domestic abuse as well as hinting towards unconsented intercourse/sex. If you're not up for reading this, it's easily skippable as the section containing the dark material is indicated with "**~oOo~**" (my story divider) followed by **_**italic/cursive writings**_** and ends with "**~oOo~**" (it's approximately midway in the chapter). You have been warned.**

**In no way am I a person that consents to such behavior, but sadly for some people, this is an everyday happenstance.**

**Anyways, here my newest chapter and I hope that you all will enjoy reading it:**

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**Chapter 8 – A Dark Past**

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My stomach growled with hunger. How embarrassing. I placed a hand on my tummy and glanced around, my green eyes searching for food. I hoped that Sesshōmaru hadn't heard the gurgling of my hunger yet.

We were still walking, and the sun was blazing high above us. I was pretty sure that it was past noon. Then I spotted it: an apple tree, with deliciously-looking red apples. Ripe and ready for the taking. Without thinking, I ran towards the tree, my hunger demanding it of me. I hadn't eaten for at least a day and a half, and I was desperately needing the nutrition. When I reached the tree, I hastily began to climb the tree.

"What're you doing you foolish mortal?!" Jaken shouted at me with his shrill squeaky voice.

In mid-climb I glanced down at him and saw his narrowed yellow eyes: "What do you think?!" I yelled back at him, "I'm hungry!"

I then began to climb the tree anew, while I heard Jaken shrieking commands at me: "Come back down, you idiotic girl!"

"No," I yelled as I kept climbing.

_Almost_, I thought as I neared the thick branch which hung under the crown of the tree where the red apples hung.

"Unless you want me to pass out by hunger, then I'm not gonna get down until I've gotten something to eat!" I added after a few seconds.

"Tch," Jaken exclaimed and the mental image of a five year old getting scolded appeared in my mind.

Finally, I was at the branch. I sat down on it and plucked an apple. Then I bit into it and the sweetest and fullest taste I'd ever had the pleasure of experiencing exploded in my mouth. Moans of delight came from me as this was simply heaven. It was just so juicy and ripe that I couldn't control my contented moans of pure bliss. I then glanced down as Sesshōmaru came up to the tree, staring up at me with his usual cold golden gaze. He didn't say a thing, but he kept his eyes on me. My cheeks blushed a bit.

Then I thought that they may need food as well – I might as well try to be kind to them for the time being.

"Hungry?" I asked Sesshōmaru kindly.

"Hn," was all he said.

Then he turned around and sauntered a bit away. And here I was trying to be nice.

"What about you Jaken?" I shifted my gaze towards him.

"D'you think I want food from …" he squawked but then his stomach rumbled excessively, indicating that he was hungry.

I sighed as I plucked an apple: "Oh, suck it up. You're hungry, so eat!"

I tossed the apple down to him and he caught it, looking at it like he didn't know what it was and what to do with it. Then he grumbled something that I couldn't hear and sauntered off to somewhere. I chuckled gently to myself, then continued to eat the apple I had previously begun digging in to. I was soon done with it and tossed the core over my shoulder. Then I thought that I should pick a few more apples just in case that I got hungry again later and wasn't able to find any food. With that in mind, I pulled the sack off of my shoulder and opened it. Then I picked an apple and put it in the sack. I repeated this until I had six or so apples in my sack. Closing my sack, I slung it over my shoulder and then prepared to climb back down.

Just as I grabbed around the trunk of the tree, I heard an almost soundless shuffle of leaves. I glanced up and saw something on one of the leaves. When I saw that it was a little green caterpillar, I screamed fearfully.

"AII~!"

In my fear, I accidentally let go of the tree, and I felt gravity kick into motion. I gasped as I felt myself falling backwards, with no time to react to it. When I expected the imminent hard landing, I closed my eyes and hoped that it wouldn't hurt too much. But before that happened, I felt something grab a hold of me, rescuing me. Surprised, I opened my eyes and blinked multiple times before I glanced up and saw Sesshōmaru looking down at me with his cold golden eyes.

My heart skipped a beat.

_He saved me!_

His eyes then glided up to the top of the tree as if searching it for any danger. My cheeks flushed as I was reminded of the little caterpillar that scared me. I glanced down at myself and was completely embarrassed by the whole situation.

"A bug," he said indifferently.

My eyes shifted back up to him and saw that he was still glancing up towards the top of the tree. Then he released me, and gravity played its part. I fell and landed on my behind.

"Ouch!" I exclaimed as my bum hurt after hitting the hard ground.

He then turned around and began to walk away.

"We're leaving," was all he said as he walked towards the small forest path we had been walking on before I found the apple tree.

I got up as quickly as I could and grabbed my sack, which lied beside me – I had apparently dropped it as I fell. Jaken was already scurrying after Sesshōmaru and I quickly ran towards them to catch up. There was no need to piss off Sesshōmaru for getting behind. Besides, I wanted to abide my time, because I knew that, at one point or another, we would cross paths with InuYasha and Kagome again. And then I would be at Kagome's side and protect her. I just needed to be patient.

~oOo~

The sky began to darken when Sesshōmaru stopped up and glanced over his shoulder at Jaken.

"Jaken."

"Yes, Sesshōmaru-sama?" Jaken said reverently and ran up next to Sesshōmaru.

"We rest here for the night," he said in his usual voice as he walked off and in between some trees.

"Yes m'Lord," Jaken squawked in his usual scrawl and bowed deeply to the retreating form of Sesshōmaru.

As soon as Sesshōmaru was out of sight, I dumped down to the ground, exhausted from all the walking. A tired sigh left me as I glanced down at my feet; they were sore from the traversing and I saw that my tabi had become brown with dust and dirt. Oh, how nice it would be with a bath.

Jaken scurried around the clearing we were in, finding twigs and dried leaves to light up a fire. Not once did we speak to each other, which was fine by me. But I couldn't help but notice the tension that seemed to be in between us. I thought that it must've been because, like Sesshōmaru, Jaken didn't like humans … and I was obviously a human.

My stomach began to complain with hunger, and I took out an apple from my sack and began to munch into it. Then I glanced over at Jaken who was looking my way at the same time and seemed to be watching the delicious red apple I had in hand with hunger. I dug into my sack and pulled out another one and reached it out towards him.

When he hesitated to pick the apple out of my hand, I said: "I have a few more in my sack, so I won't miss this one."

That seemed to be enough for him. He quickly skidded over to me and grabbed the apple out of my open palm, then ran over to the fire and sat down beside it. I sighed at his behavior.

"The least you could do was to thank me for giving you food!" I said nonchalantly.

I looked up to the sky and saw the orange sky slowly turning darker with each passing minute.

He scoffed at me: "And why would I thank a filthy human?!"

I glanced over at him, my eyes narrowing in annoyance: "I could have been cruel and not offered you one of my apples, but I chose to be kind and give it to you … So, it would only be fair that you showed some gratitude and thanked me."

Jaken seemed to be thinking a lot on what I said. Then he sighed deeply and reluctantly said 'thank you', though it obviously wasn't something he liked to do.

"You're welcome," I said kindly to him and he seemed to be surprised by my words.

No words were spoken in between us once again. The only sound was the sound of us eating our apples. Crunches and slurpy sounds filled the air around us as we sucked the juiciness of the apples into our mouths. When I was done, I threw the core over my shoulder and heard it land on the ground with a gentle thud. Then I leaned a bit back, supporting my weight on my arms as I glanced up at the darkening sky. The heavens was turning black and the stars began to appear upon the darkened canvas. So beautiful. Then my thoughts drifted back to one of my previous thoughts; how I wished to soak up in a bath.

"Jaken-san?" I asked, not glancing over at him.

I knew that he was listening as I asked him: "Is there somewhere I can get a bath here?"

When he didn't answer me right away, I shifted my gaze over to him and saw that he was thinking deeply, weighing something in his mind.

The minutes ticked by before he finally answered me: "There is a hot spring in that direction."

He pointed towards some trees and I nodded at him. I got up and began to walk in the direction he had pointed out, my sack slung over my shoulder and a 'thanks' on my lips.

He scoffed at me: "Don't take too long, human!"

I didn't answer him but continued towards the tree-line and in between the trees. I walked for approximately ten minutes, and then pushed some bushes aside. In front of me was a small, cozy, natural hot spring and I smiled excitedly at the prospect of soaking in the water and get clean. Quickly, I ran towards it and tested out the temperature of the water, which was just perfect. With eagerness, I stripped out of my clothes and hanged them over a nearby branch – Ōginsairensā rested against one of the rocks surrounding the hot spring. Then I pulled out my shampoo and placed it on one of the flat rocks that surrounded the hot spring. The bandage Jaken had wrapped me in the night before got torn away and I spotted the dried blood on it, mixed with some green ointment. I shrugged at it as I let it fall to the ground; I would clean it afterwards. Then I quickly got into the water, and immediately felt my muscles relax.

"Ahh~ … this … is … hea~ven!" I exclaimed joyously as I felt myself being surrounded by the blissfully warm water.

I sat for many minutes and just enjoyed the warmth of the water and completely forgot where I was and how I had ended up there. It was just so relaxing that no thoughts intruded my mind during my natural spa. I dug under the water line, wetted my hair, and got up again. Afterwards, I climbed up on the flat rock where my shampoo was and grabbed the bottle. As I pressed out a big glob of its content, I couldn't help but sigh when the smell of sakura blossoms wafted up to my nose. I really loved that scent. Then I proceeded to scrub the shampoo into my hair, washing it thoroughly. Again, I grabbed the bottle and pressed more of the shampoo into my hand. I smeared the wonderfully smelling shampoo all over my body, washing my whole body. When I reached to my back, I stopped up in mid-motion, glancing at the scarred and wounded back. I felt saddened that my back was so marred, and I couldn't help but think back to how I got one of the wounds…

~oOo~

_I had just gotten home from school and had taken off my shoes. The door to the living room was slightly open and I saw _him_ sitting on a cushion, a bottle of beer held to his mouth as he chugged greedily at it. As silently as I could, I walked to my room. But I didn't get that far. I heard the door to the living room slide to the side and his heavy footsteps upon the tatami floor. I stopped up, but I didn't turn around to look at _him_ – I couldn't stand the sight of _him_, especially not when he had hit the bottles. I could feel my body shaking as I heard _him_ approach me from behind. I felt his hand land on my shoulder and I immediately tried to shrug it off. But he wasn't having any of it. He burrowed his blunt nails deep into my shoulder. Pain erupted immediately at his tight hold. Then he harshly pushed me up against the wall, with my front facing the wall. My bag fell to the ground with a dull thud. His hand let go of my shoulder to grab a hold of my short dark blond hair instead._

"_Insolent brat," he growled at me._

_I didn't respond to _him_ in any way and closed my eyes, trying to shield my eyes from the sight of _him_. Then I felt something being poured over me and the smell of beer made me nauseated. It was disgusting. He chuckled darkly at me and smashed the now empty bottle against the wall, right next to my face. I flinched at the sound of glass breaking._

"_How I hate you," he sneered at me, "You should have just died with my dear _brother_! But you are like weed – nearly unable to get rid of!"_

_Then an intense pain sprouted up in my back; he had slashed the broken bottle down my back. I shrieked out in pain and felt the blood gush down from the newly made cut. Then the sting came as the beer he had poured over me entered the newly made wound, which went from my right upper shoulder and down to my left hip. Tears sprung from my eyes; tears of pain and anger. I _loathed_ this man!_

_The sound of the broken beer bottle hitting the floor rung in my ears, then I felt him jab some of his fingers of his free hand into the newly made wound. I screamed as more pain was inflicted on me._

"_STOP IT!" I screeched at him._

_He laughed, cruelly and wholeheartedly like he enjoyed my pain. He removed his hand from my wound and yanked up the skirt of my school uniform. Afterwards he pulled my panties down._

_The sound of his zipper being opened frightened me to no end. My body shook with fear and I tried to free myself from his grip. He wasn't happy about my action; he pulled at my hair and banged my head against the wall. Dark spots erupted on my sight and I felt the salty tears run anew down my paled cheeks. His hand moved down and grabbed a hold of my hip and forcefully pulled it back towards him. Then he kicked my legs apart and not a moment later, I felt him brush his length at my lady parts before pushing the head against my opening…_

~oOo~

Tears ran down my cheeks as I was reminded of my dark past and I hugged my legs to my chest and glared down at the water in front of me. How I wished that I could just forget it.

In the furthest recess of my mind I registered a presence, but I ignored it.

I didn't know how long I sat there, reminiscing in the past, but I began to feel cold and decided to push my memories to the back of my mind and continued with what I had been doing before the unwelcomed memory had destroyed my happy time. I grabbed my bottle of shampoo and pressed out some more of its content, then I lathered my back with the shampoo and jumped back down into the water to wash off the soap. Quickly I finished my bath and got out of the water. I dug into my sack and grabbed my reserve obi and used it to dry myself. Then I donned a fresh pair of panties and bra before I washed the used bandages in the hot spring. I once again grabbed my bottle of shampoo and used some of its content to clean the bandages of the grime on them. Once done, I hang them on the branch right next to my clothes, which I quickly put on. Then I packed my sack, grabbed it, my sword, and the bandages. I turned around but stopped up immediately when I saw Sesshōmaru standing in the bushes from where I had come from.

A gasp escaped my lips; I hadn't even registered him. Our eyes locked, gold meeting green. His eyes were unreadable.

"How long have you been there?" I asked nervously, completely taken by surprise at his presence.

He didn't answer me.

He turned around and began to walk towards our camp. I didn't follow him immediately and he registered it.

He stopped up and glanced back at me: "Come," he said, his voice cold as usual.

Waking up from my stupor, I ran towards him and once I reached him, he turned around and walked once more with me following silently after him.

_How long was he there? And how much of me did he see?_ I asked myself; I didn't dare speak at the moment.

When we reached the clearing, Jaken sat silently in front of the fire awaiting our arrival. On top of his head, next to his black hat, was a big bump like someone had hit him. Then he turned towards us as he heard us coming, and his eyes narrowed in on me. He scowled at me like I had done something wrong. Had Sesshōmaru hit him?

"Imprudent mortal. Took you long enough. To let Sesshōmaru-sama have to get you!" Jaken scolded me as I was right next to the fire.

I glanced at him as I raised an eyebrow; I was not impressed by him: "I was bathing, you knew that!" I responded sharply.

"That can't possibly take hours?!" Jaken shrieked at me, jumping up and down in visible anger.

I scoffed at him: "Hours?! I was, at most, gone for half an hour!"

Then he swiped the Nintōjō at me, but I caught it with my free hand and ripped it from his small hands. In a moment of irritation, I jabbed it at his head a couple of times with the end of it. Then I forced him down to the ground, the end of the staff burrowing into his back.

"Don't attack me, you stupid toad!" I sneered at him.

He was squealing on the ground, his arms and legs flailing around him as he tried to get free. I felt angry at him for trying to attack me, so I held him in that position for a couple of minutes. Then I removed the staff from his back and jabbed it into the ground so that it was standing upright. Turning my back towards him, I laid my things in hand down on the ground and sauntered off to the edge of the clearing. My eyes sought out some nice thick branches I could use as a drying pole for the bandages and my obi-turned-towel. I quickly found a few and picked them up, then walked back to the fire. Jaken had gotten up from the ground and was sitting in the lotus position with his hands crossed in front of his chest. He was sulking; his big eyes closed, and his head turned away from my approaching form. I pointedly ignored him as I proceeded with my little project. I stuck two of the branches into the ground, near the fire, and a foot or so apart from each other, then placed the third on top of them. Then I hung the bandages and my black obi over the horizontal pole.

_Mission complete._

I studied my impromptu creation with satisfaction, then I decided that it was time to get some sleep. My eyes sought the surroundings around me, and I spotted Sesshōmaru leaning up against a tree at the outskirts of our little camp. His eyes was turned to the heaven, studying the canvas above him. I turned my gaze towards the heavens as well, adoring the purity of the skies. The stars were shimmering beautifully amongst one another and the moon shone brightly. It was not full anymore – it was following its own cycle, beginning to become a residing crescent.

I lied down next to the fire, enjoying the warmth the flames were giving me. Lying on my back, I stared once more at the heavenly canvas of the night sky. My eyes slowly slid closed and I drifted off to sleep, feeling like someone was watching me with intense eyes.

~oOo~

We continued on our journey the next day. I didn't know where we were going, and neither did Jaken – I had asked him and got a scolding, which had turned my mood foul. No words were spoken, and I felt kind of annoyed by it. It was times like these that I wished that I was with Kagome; she and I would've had some healthy debates going on by now. Either about boys or school or … wait. School…? What the heck would I do about my classes?

I was surely gonna flunk them all now; due to my previously bad attendance, which was going to be none-existing due to my status of kidnapped. Would I ever return to my own time to even get the letter of expulsion?

I had to admit though that I didn't really mind not being able to go to school. It was really hard to get by the days of everlasting torture. Especially history and geography; why did I have to know what had happened before my timeline or where Moscow was?

It was not like I would happen to visit Moscow or find myself fallen back into the past … Maybe I should have been more attentive in history.

I sighed wearily as I had just reminded myself about me being in medieval Japan, and I had literally no knowledge of what happened at this time of Japan's history.

_I'm gonna end up dying here_, I thought gloomily.

And once again I sighed at myself for making myself feel blue. I just hoped Kagome was better off than me. This was definitely not my day; I had a foul mood thanks to Jaken and now I was also miserable. Could this day get any worse?

_*DUNG* … *DUNG* … *DUNG*_

_The kami must hate me!_

The whole forest rung with the heavy footsteps that came closer to where we were. Birds shrieked in fright and took flight. Sesshōmaru stopped up and glanced in the direction of the sound, which came from behind me. I slowly turned around and looked in the same direction. The sound of trees cracking and falling heavily to the ground became louder and louder just like the heavy footsteps. I felt the hairs on my neck rise up with the nervous anticipation of what was coming our way.

_*DUNG* … *DUNG* … *DUNG*_

It was close now and I could feel its ominous presence. It wasn't quite like a yōkai's – it seemed to differ somewhat. Then the sound of heavy footsteps stopped. The air was filled with tension as silence befell our little group. I could still feel the presence, but it wasn't showing itself. I was anxious, which made me unable to pinpoint the exact location of the presence.

"_**FOO~D!**_"

I stiffened as the intimidating voice thundered in my ears. A shadow was cast over me and I glanced up towards the owner of the shadow. My eyes enlarged as I saw the ginormous creature above us. It was at least twenty feet tall, with crimson skin and two long black horns sprouting from its forehead – just above its big black eyes. Sharp fangs with canines as long as my sword shot from its enormous mouth. It wore a brown fundoshi with blood splattered everywhere on it and was wielding a kanabō which was almost as long as its arm.

Blood drained from my face as I saw the hideous creature above me, and I felt myself be paralyzed with sudden fear.

_What the hell was that thing?!_

"_**HUMAN … FOOD!**_"

Dear kami it was going to eat me! I saw it raise its kanabō, ready to smash me into a bloody pulp in one swing.

_SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!_

I couldn't move. The creature swung its weapon down at me. I was going to die! I closed my eyes and awaited my fate; there was no way I could jump out of the way in time.

_What a shitty day to die on._

Then I felt an arm wrap around my torso and wind rushed incredibly fast past me, and then my feet were planted solidly on the ground. I opened my eyes and saw Sesshōmaru's armor right at my nose.

_Sesshōmaru?!_

Hastily I glanced up and saw the deadly and serious glare of his. His eyes were slightly red at the edge of the sclera like he was murderously mad.

_*KADUNKH~*_

The thunderous sound of the kanabō landed heavily on the forest floor, trees got crushed by the immense strength of the attack, and the earth shook like a small earthquake. On pure instinct, I grabbed a hold of Sesshōmaru's kimono, in order to not fall to the ground with the tremors of the earth. I kept holding onto him, even when the tremors subsided.

"Let go," he said indifferently.

"I'm sorry," I replied hastily as I let go.

My cheeks reddened immensely at the embarrassment of having been caught holding so desperately onto him. He turned around and glanced up at the creature who was raising its weapon again, readying to strike once more. Then in a blur, Sesshōmaru jumped high into the air and attacked the creature. His claws turned green as his poison enveloped them and then he swiped the creature with the venomous claws. The creature roared out in pain as the poison smelted the creature's face away. In less than five seconds the creature's face had been melted off. It fell heavily to the ground, the earth quaking with the impact of the now dead creature. The tremors of the earth made me lose my balance and I landed on my rump. I could only stare at Sesshōmaru's hovering form where the creature had once stood. He was turned towards the creature, so I couldn't see where he was looking. I was more than shocked with how powerful Sesshōmaru was; with one hit of his claws he had killed the creature. How could one be so strong?

It couldn't even be called a fight, because of how easily Sesshōmaru had defeated it. It was kind of scary.

Next to me, Jaken huffed heavily as he had run over to me from somewhere: "Y'stupid, foolish mortal, why didn't you move out of the way!" he shrieked at me in between his airy breaths.

I ignored him completely as I kept my eyes on Sesshōmaru, who flew back to where we were. He landed a few feet away from us and kept his golden eyes locked with mine. They were freezing cold as he held my gaze. My cheeks flushed once more and I really wanted to tear my gaze away from his eyes, but as always, I was unable to. Stupid magnetism. I heard the continuous shouts of Jaken, but I couldn't really comprehend his words; it was like a big mumble jumble to me.

Then something in me told me to raise my hand up and parry an incoming attack – like a warning – and I did. Just as I did so, the palm of my right hand was met with something like a wooden surface and hair.

_Huh?!_

I blinked multiple times, then turned my gaze towards the attacker and saw Jaken had swung his staff against me. But I had stopped it in mid-air with my hand, which was wrapped around the staff near where the two faces were. The hairy feeling was coming from the long strands of the woman-head's black hair, which was twisted into the wood. My eyes glided down the staff and saw a baffled Jaken sweating nervously – he mustn't have expected me to block his attack.

Sudden anger filled me as I focused on Jaken: "Did you just try to hit me you stupid toad?!" I yelled at him.

He gaped at me, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Then he tried to pull the staff out of my grasp, but I held it tightly in my hand. I jumped up from my sitting position and yanked it out of his clutch and kept a tight hold on it.

"I'm so sick of you keep trying to whack me with this stupid staff!" I yelled at him.

He jumped up and down on the spot and squawked at me with his annoying shrill voice: "You give that back now, you filthy human!"

Damn that stupid toad! I was having enough of his behavior by this point.

"No! This is now confiscated until further notice!" I shouted at him and walked towards Sesshōmaru.

He had been watching the whole séance – I was pretty sure of it, considering the half a smirk on his lips. Was he amused?

Curse him for thinking of my and Jaken's discussion being funny. When I was almost right in front of him, his smirk disappeared. He walked off in the direction we had been walking along before the attack. I followed him, fuming silently over this rotten day of mine.

"W-wait for me, m'Lord!" I heard Jaken squawk as he ran after us.

~oOo~

Jaken kept pestering me with his agonizingly infuriating squawks. He wanted his staff back, but he wasn't getting it. I tried my best to just ignore him, but he was a persistent little imp. Stopping abruptly, I turned around and glowered at him. I thrusted the staff into his hands, and he clamped those small hands greedily around the shaft of the staff. He tugged at it, but I wasn't letting go of it. His large yellow eyes fearfully turned upwards to me, and his mouth was clamped shut. I finally had his attention.

"If you try to whack me with it one more time … I'll burn it to a crisp!" I threatened him.

And I had every intention of upholding my threat, because it was so annoying and infuriating that he tried to whack me every time he thought I deserved it.

He nodded once at my threat, looking like one who's gotten the point. I let go of his staff and continued after Sesshōmaru, who had continued onwards.

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**A/N: I hope that I didn't scare you all away with the bit of dark content in this chapter, though I hope that the bits of humor weighted up for it, somewhat (I tried to make some of the parts funny). I also tried to build up some background for my OC in this chapter, and I can easily promise you that there will be more in future chapters. What are your thoughts on this chapter? Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. See ya next Sunday. **

**A/N – A few glossaries:**

_**Fundoshi**_** – men's loincloth.**

_**Kanabō**_** – an iron club.**


	9. Chapter 9 - The Dilemma of Being a Woman

**A/N: Hello my lovely readers, at last it's Sunday again, and it's time for a new chapter. Hurray! First off, a big thanks to and LadyEssiecat for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. Also, a big thanks to xXRitz-aholicXx for your review: only time will tell. And lastly, thanks to those who have my story on their Alert-list, and to all of you for reading my story. A billion thanks you guys.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Now, onwards with the story!**

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**Chapter 9 – The Dilemma of Being A Woman**

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Three days! It had been three days now since the attack of the creature, which I later had found out was an oni. In those three days we had done nothing but travel. Only stopping up for the night to rest, and with a few stops on the way when nature called to me. I was so exhausted that I didn't know if I could carry on any longer. Where the hell were we headed off to anyway?

My mood had become fouler with each passing day and I'd been feeling kind of nauseous since last night.

I stopped up as the pieces of the puzzle fit together. It wasn't a coincidence that I had been feeling so down – it was usually a sign of … oh no … my period was upon me! Could my life get any worse?

I didn't have any pain killers or pads.

_I'm so screwed!_

Sesshōmaru stopped up as well and glanced at me, clearly annoyed at me for stopping up. Speaking of annoyance, I'd pissed him off a few times during the past three days, so he was probably fed up with my antics.

"Ehm … I …" I began to stammer out, extremely embarrassed with the whole situation, "… is there a village nearby?" I murmured out with humiliation.

My face felt hot and I was sure that I was completely red in the face.

He didn't answer me, so I continued my plea without giving too much details of the problem: "You see… I need to … talk to a … woman…"

I had his attention as he turned around and faced me fully.

"Explain," he said in his usual deep and cold voice, his eyes narrowing at me.

I gulped – I didn't want to explain: "I … please …" I sighed heavily with awkwardness, "Kami, this is so embarrassing!" I exclaimed and turned my gaze away from him.

The rustling of fabric caught my attention and the next second, a hand grabbed my chin and forced my face up. Sesshōmaru was staring down at me with impatience, his golden eyes taking in the flushed state of my face.

"Out with it!" he said icily and let go of my chin.

But before I could answer him, the first bouts of pain had arrived. My stomach cramped and I moaned breathlessly with discomfort. My hand sought out to my lower stomach and pressed against it, trying to alleviate the sharp stings of ache there. I unintentionally moved away from him to give myself some space. Another wave of agony hit me, and I winced this time. Then to my utter horrification, I could hear Sesshōmaru sniffing the air.

_Oh kami, just strike me down already!_

The third wave hit me and forced me down to my knees. Hugging my arms to my lower stomach, I crumpled fore over, making myself as tiny as possible.

I felt his eyes rake over me, clearly not expecting me to behave like this.

"Where?" Sesshōmaru asked hurriedly, yet frustration was imminent in his voice.

"WHAT?!" I shouted in agony.

_Damn, why must my periods always hurt as hell?_

The pain was even worse than when I got wounded by the centipede yōkai and InuYasha!

"Where is the wound?"

_Oh kami, he can freaking smell it!_

"There's no wound!" I exclaimed and curled myself into the tiniest human ball that had ever existed.

It was so humiliating that I didn't know what to do.

"Don't lie! I can smell the blood!"

His voice was like ice, which froze me completely. He could smell that I was bleeding, which meant that it had already begun.

"Fuck!" I muttered panicky, then added hastily: "There's no wound!"

"Stop it, girl, and tell me where you are bleeding from!"

This couldn't possibly be anymore humiliating than it already was. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder which pushed me back up so that I was kneeling once again. I didn't dare look at him.

"It's my monthly period!" I shouted.

My surroundings became so silent that you would be able to hear a feather flutter to the ground.

_The beans has already been spilled, so might as well empty the can!_

I rushed my next words: "As a human, every month a woman bleed. When a woman ovulates, an egg is dispersed to the uterus. This happens approximately once a month. If the egg is not fertilized with male sperm, the uterus will expel the un-fertilized egg, and this results in bleeding."

_Damn that almost sounded like I was reading aloud my biology textbook!_

I kept my eyes closed and wished to be whisked away.

"Get up," Sesshōmaru said aloofly.

_Huh? What did he plan to do?_

I chanced a look up at him and he was looking down at me with unreadable eyes. With agony I managed to get up, though I kept a hand pressed against my lower abdomen. Then he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me flushed up against his chest. I was so surprised that I didn't manage to react to us not being on the ground anymore. When I chanced a glance down, I saw the tree-tops rushing past at an immense speed down beneath us. We were flying. I clenched my hands into his kimono like some instinctual security measure.

It felt nice to be up in the air, though I was puzzled that he would even carry me. He was so hard to figure out. He never showed his emotions other than anger, annoyance, and coldness. It would have been nice if I knew what he was thinking. And where he was taking me, for that matter. All too soon we landed.

_What … too soon? What the hell am I thinking? I shouldn't enjoy this!_ I thought, my cheeks flushing red.

He let go off me and I, somewhat reluctantly, let go of him. It was kind of nice to be held by him.

_No, no, no! I don't like to be held by him!_ I reprimanded myself mentally.

I glanced around: we were at the outskirts of a forest and just down in the small valley beneath us was a small village with people wandering around.

"Make it quick," he said distantly while he turned around and walked in between the trees behind us.

He seemed … _kind_ – I didn't know how to describe it. For the last five days he had been nothing but cold and sometimes even awful, but this was kind of him to do. Without further ado, I quickly ran to the village and found the first random woman, who seemed old enough to help me. This happened to be a woman with a baby hanging on her back.

"Excuse me," I asked her when I stopped up right next to her.

She glanced questioningly at me, likely not having expected a stranger to come and talk to her.

"I was wondering if you could help me out?"

She turned towards me, narrowing her eyes slightly at me. Pushing the pain to the back of my mind, I came with my request.

"You see … it's that time of the month for me, but I have nothing to take care of it… Can you help me?" I asked desperately.

Her eyes seemed to soften at my request, and I knew she would help me.

"Follow me, I live not far from here. There, we can discuss it properly," she said kindly.

"Thank you so much," I said as I bowed deeply in front of her.

She was a lifesaver.

~oOo~

"_Now, remember. Change the linen once every couple of four hours at the latest. They are washable, so you don't have to think about getting rid of them …"_

I remembered the woman's advice as I climbed the hill back to the forest where Sesshōmaru was waiting for me. She had given me enough linens to last a whole day, which meant that I would have to wash the blood off the used ones, once every day. It wasn't ideal, considering with how much we traveled. She had also been kind enough to let me change in her house, so that I had the primitive pad on – but I had fumbled a bit with it until I figured out how to wear it. It was basically a susoyoke, though much thicker, so that I wouldn't bleed through to my leggings. Unfortunately, I couldn't wear my panties with these linens she had given me. The rest of the linens were in a small package in my sack.  
And thank the kami that I hadn't yet bled on my panties. I was both amazed and horrified that Sesshōmaru had been able to smell it as it had merely just begun.

But sadly, the woman didn't have anything for the pain. I sighed heavily, thinking that it was going to be a really rough one without pain meds. When I finally reached the top of the hill, I couldn't see Sesshōmaru.

"Sesshōmaru?" I called out after him, not knowing where he was.

The sound of fluttering fabric sounded from behind me and I abruptly turned around. Sesshōmaru was standing still, his nose vibrating like he was sniffing the air.

"You're still bleeding," he said emotionlessly, yet his eyes narrowed at me.

And cue for blushing – _dear kami, doesn't he know how periods work?_

"Y-yes," I stammered with slight embarrassment, "and I will keep bleeding … for about five more days … give or take a day…"

"Hn," was all he said.

Suddenly, I registered that Jaken wasn't with us because there was no protest over something or another problem with humans, aka me.

"Where's Jaken?" I asked curiously as I glanced around for him, though I knew he wasn't there.

"Back where we left him," Sesshōmaru responded distantly.

_Oh?!_

Before I could comment on the fact that we had literally left Jaken behind, Sesshōmaru wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his armored chest. And then we were in the air once more.

_I wonder if his chest is chiseled …_ I began to think as I clung to his kimono, just above his armor, _he must be, considering how well he fights…_

And I didn't know why that thought popped up in my head, but it did, and it was really disturbing. I shouldn't be thinking about my captor in such a way. I didn't want to have a case of Stockholm syndrome! This was probably a once in a lifetime thing; him being considerate about my period. But it was still nice that he took me to a village so I could get some things for the bleeding – though I didn't manage to get any painkillers.

As I thought of painkillers, I was reminded of how much I actually needed it. The pain grew and I really wanted to curl into myself, yet I wouldn't be able to do so as far as we were in the air. The cramps in my lower abdomen intensified and I couldn't help the moan of agony that escaped my lips. I thought that I might've made Sesshōmaru uncomfortable, because he tightened his grip on me for a couple of seconds and I felt his eyes on me. But I was more focused on trying to ignore the pain as much as I could. My eyes were closed as I tried to subdue the pain mentally.

_Think on something else_, I thought desperately to myself.

Without me registering it, we had landed and immediately I heard Jaken's shrilly voice: "M'Lord, where did you head off to with that girl?!"

Sesshōmaru let go off me, and I let go of his kimono. I opened my eyes and saw Sesshōmaru staring icily at Jaken, who instantly shut up with his inquiries. Thank the kami, I really wasn't in the mood of hearing Jaken's annoying voice.

~oOo~

My lower abdomen was trying to kill me, I was sure of it. We were still walking and had been walking for a couple of hours. And I had to change linen soon. Then Sesshōmaru changed trajectory and headed in through some trees. Jaken and I followed suit, and after some minutes, a small river was in front of us. Sesshōmaru lead us upstream, and we walked for approximately ten more minutes until the sound of a waterfall reached my ears. We continued onwards and soon enough we came to the source.

Right in front of me – when I had passed through some foliage – there was a beautiful blue lake and a small waterfall that fell over a high cliffside. A little to the left, I could see a natural cave, which was partially hidden by the water curtains.

"We rest here," Sesshōmaru said in his customary emotionless voice.

I felt relieved that we wouldn't be walking any further, though I was puzzled that we were already setting up camp; it was still high noon. Putting that thought aside, I thought of something more important at the moment: I needed to find somewhere private so that I could change the linen. I spotted some good-looking bushes, which seemed far enough from the cave – thinking that it would be our resting spot, considering that we almost always slept in caves if we came upon one.

I walked towards the bushes but was stopped by Jaken's shrilly voice: "Where do you think you're going?!" he squawked at me and narrowed his eyes.

I glanced at him over my shoulder: "None of your damn business, you stupid toad!" I exclaimed with annoyance.

Kami, how I couldn't tolerate Jaken and his extremely irritating voice right now. Jaken made a notion as if he wanted to follow me, and I began to slightly panic. But thank the kami that Sesshōmaru stopped him. Sesshōmaru used his fist and bumped it on top of the imp's head, making Jaken fall to the ground, unmoving. It looked like Sesshōmaru knocked him out cold. I glanced up at Sesshōmaru who was looking at me with unreadable eyes, and I sent him a nod of gratitude and headed to the bushes to do my business.

Once I had done so, I stood with the bloodied linen in hand, wondering what I should do with it exactly. I couldn't just wait to wash them all at once – that would probably annoy Sesshōmaru to no end. Being able to smell my blood as he was. So, with that in mind, I walked back to the lake and followed it around until I came to the river that divided from it. It would be better to get the blood washed away as quickly as possible. I removed my sack from my back and pulled out my shampoo. Then I proceeded to wash the blood out. The water turned pink with the blood from the linen. It was awfully trivial to have to do it this way, but it must be done. I didn't want to have another embarrassing discussion about my periods with Sesshōmaru.

Another cramp tore through my body and I groaned with the pain, unprepared for the bouts of pain. What I wouldn't do to have some painkillers. I quickly finished washing the linen, packed the shampoo back into my sack and went back to the cave behind the waterfall. There, Jaken had already gotten a fire going, sitting near it, and sulking with a great bump on his head from where Sesshōmaru had hit him. Sesshōmaru was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Sesshōmaru?" I asked while I slowly entered the cave.

"It's _Lord_ Sesshōmaru or Sesshōmaru-_sama_! You disrespectful child!" Jaken scowled at me from his spot.

I let a sigh out: "Where is _Lord_ Sesshōmaru?" I put extra force on the word 'lord' though he wasn't my lord – the only lord over me was myself.

"Sesshōmaru-sama's business is his alone to know!" he uttered with his shrilly voice, giving me a nasty smile as if he found it pleasing to annoy the hell out of me.

"You don't know," I said flatly as I placed my linen on a flat rock near the fire, so that it could dry.

Then I sat down beside the stone and stared into the fire, hugging my knees up against my chest. The agony in my abdomen was constant and I felt really nauseated by the pain. I really needed to get something for it, or else I was going to die – at least it felt like I would. Maybe Jaken knew something about what I could use for the pain.

"Jaken-san," I asked sweetly – I had found out: if I said 'Jaken-san' he would be more cooperative, "do you know of some plant that would be able to take away pain?"

He stared at me with his big yellow eyes: "What would _you_ need that for?"

I shifted my gaze back to the fire and sighed: "My business …" then I turned my gaze back at him, "… but do you know?"

He blinked at me a few times, then said in his shrilly voice: "The bark of a willow tree, but there are no willows nearby."

"I see," was my reply as I lied down with my back towards the fire.

I curled in on myself as I was lying, the pain awful and excruciating. My arms were wrapped around my stomach and my breath was slightly shallow as I tried to breathe through the pain. Damn this, how I hated to be a woman at that point. I closed my eyes and tried to think happy thoughts, but it became more difficult to ignore the pain.

_I would love to have some vanilla ice cream, right now_, I thought as I whimpered louder than I would have liked.

~oOo~

"Wake up you foolish girl!" the shrill shriek of Jaken rung in my ears.

"Go away," I said weakly as another bout of agony wrecked my body.

My eyes were clenched shot as I felt the end of Jaken's staff hit my shoulder. It wasn't a hard jab, but enough for me to know that Jaken needed my attention. I turned my head towards him and saw that he was standing with a steaming cup of tea in his hand – the staff was in his other hand.

"Drink this," he squeaked as he gave me the tea.

I sat up and received the cup; it smelled bitter.

"What is this?" I asked confusedly, puzzled by being handed anything from the little imp.

"Tea made from the bark of a willow tree!" Jaken answered in his usual squawk and stepped away from me.

I raised an eyebrow at this: "I thought that you said there weren't any willows nearby?"

"There aren't!"

He turned around and walked over to his spot by the fire. Confused with this whole situation, I shrugged my shoulders, still feeling weary with the pain in my body. I couldn't figure out how we had ended up with willow bark, but I wouldn't complain if it would help me with my pain. I blew at the steaming clay cup with tea, then took a small sip. It was really bitter. Slowly I drank some more and glanced around; it looked like Sesshōmaru wasn't back yet from wherever he had gone off to.

Already the tea began to work its magic; I didn't feel nauseated anymore. And in no time, I had emptied the cup. I lied down a bit longer, until I felt the pain was bearable enough for me to move around. I got up and walked over to Jaken with the empty clay cup.

"Thank you, Jaken-san," I said as I gave him the cup.

He took the cup and huffed at me, not deigning me worthy enough for an answer. I let him be. Glancing out towards the opening of the cave, I saw that it was turning dark. I quickly grabbed my sack and headed outside, changed my linen, and washed the used one. Once I was back, I placed the newly washed linen on the flat rock beside the nearly dried linen. I then sat back down and glanced into the fire.

"Do you know when _he_'ll be back?" I asked Jaken.

"Hmph, the Lord has already been here. He went off to test his new arm while I have to babysit you … you are an annoyance! Dirty human!"

Jaken was clearly unhappy about 'babysitting' me, but I was more focused on the other thing he had just said.

"New arm?"

He nodded, satisfied with my question: "Yes, the Lord has acquired a new arm and it should be almost as powerful as his original arm. Definitely enough to crush that hanyō InuYasha!"

I scowled at him; was he really serious? How could Sesshōmaru had gotten a new arm?

Speaking of the devil. Just then, I saw Sesshōmaru enter the cave. He didn't look happy.

"M'Lord," Jaken said excitedly with his usual squawk, "how did the assessment of the new arm go?"

Sesshōmaru glared at Jaken with a deadly look, and I guessed that it hadn't gone as he had planned it to go. Jaken clearly was worried for his lord's sudden turn of mood.

"Forgive me, Sesshōmaru-sama … I didn't mean to upset you!" Jaken said and bowed lowly to said yōkai: "Please forgive your humble servant!"

A "Hn," was Sesshōmaru's reply, though he still seemed annoyed with the situation.

Then his eyes fell upon me. His golden eyes were unreadable, and I felt confused with the look he was giving me. Why did he look at me with those unreadable eyes of his?

After some tense minutes, he shifted his gaze away from me and sauntered elegantly into the cave. He sat down and leaned up against the smooth wall of the cave, raising his right knee into a bent position and rested his right arm upon it. He then closed his eyes. I glanced back into the flames and sighed tiredly. Then my stomach began to grumble hungrily. I hadn't eaten anything today, considering I had been more than nauseous thanks to me having my period. Might as well go see if I could find something to eat; I didn't have any more apples in my sack. I got up from my spot and walked to the mouth of the cave.

"Woman."

I heard Sesshōmaru call out to me, and I turned towards him on his unspoken command. Sarcastically, I thought that I had been promoted from girl to woman. But he still didn't use my name, even though that I had told him it multiple times; one of the reasons he and I had butted heads the last three days.

"My name is Aiko!" I said pointedly while I crossed my arms up in front of my chest.

But before he could retort to my pointed words, my stomach groaned with hunger. A light blush spread over my cheeks as it was kind of embarrassing. He could clearly hear it with his yōkai-heightened senses. My arms flew to my stomach, trying to shield the sound of its hunger, though I knew that would be impossible. My eyes followed my arms motion and rested on my flat stomach hidden behind my grey osode.

"Sorry … I'll go find myself something to eat."

I turned around but almost bumped into the back of Sesshōmaru. Damn him for being so fast!

"Stay here," he said coldly while he glanced over his shoulder to look at me.

My eyes shifted up to his face and caught his cold stare.

"Why? I need to find some food!" I said pointedly, becoming annoyed with his weird antics.

"Do as I say," he said just as pointedly, his eyes narrowing at me.

I felt my temper rise: "I can find my own food! I'm not helpless!"

He turned towards me, his eyes becoming hard and unreadable: "Stay here!"

Damn this mononoke, he was so annoying: "Tch, fine … If that's what you really want! But don't scold me when my stomach holds a concert for the rest of the night!"

As if on cue, my stomach protested yet again, and I scowled at my abdomen with white hot fury and embarrassment.

_Thank you, stomach, for making a point!_ I thought darkly.

I turned around and walked back to my spot beside the fire and sat down in the lotus position. Resting my elbows on my knees, I laid my head against my hands and scowled angrily into the fire in front of me. I felt Sesshōmaru narrow his golden eyes at me, but before I shifted my gaze up at him, I heard him exit the cave.

He really pissed me off: I wasn't even allowed to find my own freaking food now! Was he trying to starve me for being disobedient?

I righted my position so that my knees were against my chest and my arms rested upon my knees, then my head upon my folded arms. My stomach kept grumbling with the need for nutrition. Why wasn't I allowed to find some fruit or berries?

Damn that Sesshōmaru for trying to make me submissive. I wouldn't allow it! I was an independent woman for crying out loud. Well, some may have said that I was still a child back home since I was only sixteen. But here … I was of legal age and would have been forced to marry a random husband by now. So much I had registered from my history classes, and I had literally gone into a frenzy with how unfair it was for women back in the days – this had given me a detention for a week. But seriously, this whole situation sucked!

My stomach protested once more, and I felt gloomier with my position. My mind drifted back to the thought of marriage. Would I end up getting married in this time period?

It seemed impossible to me that I would end up getting married someday, especially as things were right now. With me being Sesshōmaru's prisoner – me getting married was equal to zero percent. Was Sesshōmaru married?

Did yōkai even get married?

In my mind I couldn't see any Mrs. Sesshōmaru. I suddenly felt jealous with the thought of Sesshōmaru being with other women/yōkai, and it made me more than annoyed that I felt that way. I had no right to feel jealous! It was not like I was his …

But I actually was, in some disturbing way. He treated me like I was his property. Dear kami, why did I get these weird thoughts?

_Snap out of it Aiko!_ I exclaimed mentally at myself and shook my head from side to side.

Then I rapidly clapped my hands against my cheeks, feeling the minor sting in them with every sharp hit I made.

~oOo~

Almost an hour had passed by before Sesshōmaru was back. But when he came back, he tossed a dead rabbit in front of Jaken. Jaken was roused from his light slumber when the skinned and dead rabbit landed on his lap.

"M'Lord?" Jaken asked confusedly as he glanced from the rabbit to Sesshōmaru a couple of times.

"Cook it," Sesshōmaru said emotionlessly as he gracefully walked over to his self-designated spot against the cave wall.

I glanced between the rabbit and Sesshōmaru a few times as well. Then my eyes stayed upon Sesshōmaru, who had closed his eyes and was sitting in his usual posture; right knee bent with his right arm on top of it.

"Don't tell me …" I muttered, then I pointed at the dead rabbit that Jaken had begun cooking over the fireplace, "… is that for me?"

He opened his eyes, narrowly glancing at me, but he didn't say a thing to my question. But I was quite sure of that it was for me; Sesshōmaru didn't eat – at least not in front of us – and he would never fetch dinner for Jaken, so it had to have been for me.

Adding two and two together, I concluded the rabbit was indeed meant for me, and I felt slightly uncomfortable with his deed: "You didn't have to … I could have just found some fruit…"

This time he simply just ignored me, which annoyed me to no end. Yet, I felt like I should thank him for getting me something to eat, even though I didn't like the feeling of being a little helpless woman.

"Thank you," I said to him while I kept my green eyes on him.

This time he opened his eyes and stared back at me, his eyes unreadable as he said his customary "Hn," as acknowledgement.

My cheeks felt slightly flushed as his eyes once again captivated me. His golden eyes, though normally cold, annoyed, wrathful, or even unreadable, as they were now … I had to admit they were gorgeous and beautiful. I knew I shouldn't be thinking of him in such a manner, but admittedly, _he_ was handsome, and majestic. And beautiful. It must be his treatment of me as of today; he seemed somewhat kind and considerate, and it seemed so out of character for him. He was still his arrogant and cold self, yet he had been kind of nice to me. He had flown me to that village to help me take care of my period, yet he could have let me suffer the extreme embarrassment it would have been to bleed on my clothes. Maybe he did it because it would have been more of an inconvenience to have me bleed everywhere than to help me out. But still …

My train of thought got interrupted when the smell of roasting rabbit met my nose, and I almost drooled at the smell of the juicy meat. Sesshōmaru closed his eyes and I turned my gaze quickly away from him and stared at the rabbit roasting over the fire.

~oOo~

We stayed at the cave for the next four days. I tended to my bleeding, which had almost ended now. Jaken played 'babysitter' on behalf of Sesshōmaru. And Sesshōmaru was off to somewhere most of the day, only to come back to us when night had arose, regularly bringing something for me to eat. If it was meat, he ordered Jaken to cook it for me, but once it had been lots of ripe fruits and delicious berries. I felt kind of spoiled and wondered how much longer he would be doing this. It would probably end once my period was over.

It was the fifth day, and Sesshōmaru was off to somewhere once more. I was more than bored out of my mind; for the last four days Sesshōmaru had forbidden me to step outside other than to change my linen. Basically, I had been cooped up inside the cave with an annoying imp, who either didn't want to talk to me or would reprimand me when he deemed me foolish or something alike. It was so depressing.

I was inside the cave, staring boringly up at the ceiling while Jaken was dozing off in front of the embers of our little fireplace. The pain in my abdomen was basically gone and I felt uneasy at just lying around doing nothing. My eyes shifted over to Jaken once more, seeing him leaning up against his staff, completely asleep. I needed to do something; I was getting sick of only seeing the insides of this cave. With my mind set on doing something physically, I got up and stepped outside. I moved silently while I traversed through the cave, but once I was outside, I felt relieved. Breathing in the fresh air that surrounded me, I sighed contently and walked a bit further away from the cave. The blue lake glittered softly with the rays of the sun. The lake resided in a small clearing, but there was enough room for me to move around freely.

I decided to do some training with my sword; I hadn't really used it for some time. So, I unsheathed it and began to move through some of the basic stands, starting off with chūdan-no-kamae.

With both of my hands on the tsuka, I held my blade in front of me with the tsuka at the same level as my navel. My right foot was slightly in front of my left, with my left heel slightly alleviated. My hips were faced forward. and my shoulders were relaxed.

Then I fluidly changed position and entered the jōdan-no-kamae. I raised my ōdachi above my head, the sharp side facing the sky and the tip facing backwards. I stepped forward with my left food, alleviated my right heel and bent my knees slightly. My hips were still faced forward as I felt the first drops of sweat form on my forehead.

Then I struck my blade downward and changed my position from jōdan to gedan-no-kamae. The tip of my blade was leveled with my knees – facing away from me – and I had moved my right foot, so it was slightly in front of the left, and my right hip was more in front now than before. I relaxed my shoulders as I stood for a short while in this position.

Then I changed my position once more. This time into the hassō-no-kamae. I stepped forward with my left foot while I raised my sword up in front of my right shoulder. My blade was held upright into the air and the tsuka was leveled with my shoulders.

Then I changed my position yet again, back to the chūdan-no-kamae. I repeated my stances over and over again, bathing in the sweat I made.

I worked my stances for a few hours, then decided to refresh some of my sword techniques, starting off with a classic stance: waki-gamae. I turned to my side – left in front and right turned backward – and hid the blade behind my body, only showing off the tsuka. The blade was held horizontal at my waist's level, and then I moved my blade in a sideways arc, moving my right foot forward with the motion. Now my right foot was in front of the left and my blade had made a perfect 180 degrees sideway arc. I stepped back and repeated the motion a hundred times.

My hands felt clammy with the sweat in their palms and I dried them on my leggings before I grabbed the tsuka with both of my hands once more.

I then changed back to jōdan-no-kamae and practiced the overhead cut. I swung my blade downwards, not wavering it to either left or right, and only stopped the motion when my hands were leveled with my hips. I repeated this motion a hundred times as well.

When I did the last move, I was more than drenched in sweat and I was panting heavily. I sheathed my sword and bowed deeply, like I was thanking an invisible sensei. Straightening back up, I turned around and headed back to the cave; I really needed a bath and wash my clothes, so I needed my shampoo. When I reached the cave, I peeked inside at first and saw that Jaken was still asleep. Perfect.

Stealthily, I stepped inside and grabbed my sack, then walked back out, mindful of not making a sound in case that Jaken woke up. Once outside, I strapped my sack onto my shoulder and scoured the clearing for some good branches to use as a drying pole. After I found them, I walked over to the lake and prepared the makeshift drying pole. When I was happy with the result, I pulled off my sack and pulled out my shampoo, reserve obi, and my dirtied panties and bras and placed them near the waterline. I glanced at my surroundings, looking out for any onlookers. I didn't spot any, so I stripped out of my clothes and quickly washed them. Then I hung the clothes on the drying pole to let them dry while I bathed.

I jumped into the lake. The water was a bit too chilly, but at the same time it felt immensely refreshing. Already I felt much cleaner than I had done in a while; I hadn't had the chance for a bath since the hot spring, which was over a week ago. I couldn't fathom how people survived for so long without a bath. I felt quite disgusted by the thought of me going around for over a week without a bath. I must've smelled really bad. Then I wondered if Sesshōmaru had been annoyed with my stench as well as the smell of my blood. Was that maybe why he was away most of the time?

I mentally shrugged at my question and swam back to where my shampoo was. I grabbed the shampoo bottle and pressed out some of its content – there was only half a bottle left in it, which kind of sucked since I didn't know if I would get a chance to pick up a refill. Giving the bottle a scowl at the prospect of running out of shampoo, I placed it back on the ground and proceeded to wash myself thoroughly. The water reached my ankles where I stood at the shore of the lake, and I knew that I was extremely exposed to my surroundings. While I coated myself in shampoo, I stealthily glanced around and luckily saw nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be as it should be.

When I had scrubbed myself with shampoo, I ran back into the deeper parts of the lake and dove under the waterline. I swam a bit around under the surface, slowly washing some of the shampoo off of me. Then the need for air begged me to breach the waterline, which I did. Some of the shampoo still clung to my hair, so I dived under again once I had gotten my breath. I quickly got the rest of the shampoo out of my hair and once more breached the surface. My back was turned towards my things as I stood upright; the water covered from just above my pubic bone and down. Drying the excess water from my hair and face with my hands, I turned around and readied myself to get out of the water.

But I immediately stopped up when I spotted someone standing near my makeshift drying pole with my wet clothes on. And that someone was Sesshōmaru. For a long time, I could only stare at him as his was watching me. Then I remembered that I was naked, and he had a free view of my breasts.

"AII~! Don't look you pervert!" I shrieked as I abruptly turned around and hid my breasts behind my now-crossed arms.

He didn't say a thing and I didn't hear him move away. Slowly, I glanced over my shoulder at him and saw that he was staring intently at my back. My back which was marred with old scars. I felt my cheeks flush red with embarrassment and sadness. I didn't want him to see my back. I turned around, so my side was facing him instead of my marred back. And then I glanced up and got caught by the intense look in his golden eyes. His eyes held mine, and I was once more captured and unable to take my eyes off of his.

I didn't know how long we stared at each other, but I began to feel cold.

"Could you … turn around so that I can get dressed?" I asked him, not moving out of my spot.

Without saying a word, he turned around, but he didn't move away. I guessed that it had to suffice. Hastily, I exited the water and grabbed the obi I had left next to my shampoo and hurriedly dried myself. Then I dug into my sack and grabbed a pair of clean panties and donned them, quickly followed by a clean bra. When I had put my undergarments on, I hurried over to the drying pole and grabbed my osode, which was still slightly damp, but had almost been dried completely with the gentle breeze that swept over the clearing. As I finished up dressing in my slightly damp clothes, he turned around and glanced me over, his golden eyes unreadable. His nose vibrated as he sniffed the air. I felt my cheeks heat up with sudden awkwardness; was he smelling something on me?

He then turned away from me and looked towards the cave: "Pack up. We're leaving."

Then he walked over to the cave, probably to wake up Jaken. When he disappeared behind the water curtain, I let out a breath that I hadn't registered that I had been holding in. My heart was fluttering in my chest and I rested a hand on top of my osode, right over my fast-beating heart. That yōkai, he made my body feel weird.

I hurriedly began to pack my still damp panties and bras into my sack. While I packed my items back into my sack, my thoughts drifted to what had just happened: he had seen me naked. My cheeks flushed and I felt my heart skip a beat. He had seen me as naked as the day I was born. I could right-out die from the humiliation of him seeing me. And he had just taking me in completely, not averting his eyes. Though he should have done so. A gentleman would have done so. He had studied my naked torso. Dear kami, what should I do? How could I ever look him in the eye again? Why hadn't he averted his eyes when he saw that I was naked?

It seemed like I was prone to get into embarrassing moments with Sesshōmaru, and it was something I really had begun to hate immensely.

Why kami? Why were you making my life so miserable and embarrassing?

I was just about done packing when Sesshōmaru exited the cave. His golden eyes immediately found my green ones and I felt my cheeks blush up even more than they already were. I wanted to avert my eyes, but his damn eyes were so magnetic that I couldn't glance away.

He glanced behind him and I saw Jaken come out, looking like Sesshōmaru had given him a scolding: Jaken had gotten a new bump on the head.

I felt kind of sorry for the little imp, but I had needed the fresh air and if I had woken him up, I would have been forced to stay in the cave. Jaken scowled at me and I slightly winced at the prospect of getting a scolding from him, which I knew would happen.

Then Sesshōmaru began to walk away from the cave, and Jaken and I followed him. No words were spoken, and the air was thick with tension. Jaken was waiting for the opportune time to scold me. I knew that it would happen.

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**A/N: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. In the next chapter, we'll get back to the main story again. If you're curious about the fighting stances that Aiko is perusing, I googled about it to find out real Samurai techniques for her to use. This doesn't necessarily make me an expert on the topic, on the contrary, I'm anything but an expert. But anyways, I'll be leaving for now, and you'll hear from me again next Sunday with a new chapter. :)**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Tessaiga

**A/N: Hello my dear readers. Another Sunday is upon us, which means another chapter from me. Yaeh! But first, a big thanks to all of you for taking your time to read my story. Also, a big thanks to Kagz419, Xanthe99, and 7of9 for favoriting my story; thank you and welcome to the fave-fam. And also, thanks to you guys for putting my story on your Alert-list, so that you can keep up to date with my story. :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**But anyways, onwards with Aiko's Journey:**

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**Chapter 10 – The Tessaiga**

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The days seemed to flow together and become the same. I had no count of how many days had passed by since my period had ended, and we had left the cave. But it seemed to be the same that happened day in and day out; we would travel across the country, scouring for yōkai that Sesshōmaru could slay. Then he would claim the left arm of the slain yōkai and test it out.

Yet every arm didn't last long. After only a few uses, the arm would rot away, like Sesshōmaru rejected the alien appendage. It made sense in some sort of weird way: Sesshōmaru was a really strong yōkai – maybe even the strongest to ever live – and his aura would just destroy the new appendage when he used it. He would need a miracle of some sort if he wanted a new arm.

In this time period there weren't surgeons or doctors to help him work out the difficulty of losing an arm. Heck, as far as I knew, there weren't even proper prosthetics. He would have to accept that he would never have a left arm again.

The sound of horse hooves echoed throughout the open plains we were traversing. Sesshōmaru wordlessly sent Jaken and me away into the woods to hide while he dealt with the newcomers. He had nearly just acquired a new arm; this time from a blue oni, and he clearly wanted to test it out. The aura from the newly acquired arm had already begun to diminish. It wouldn't last long. I was sure of it.

From our spot near the trees, I had a clear view of what happened on the field. Riders approached Sesshōmaru from the way we had just come from. I didn't sense any presence from them, so they had to be humans. And I knew that he was going to kill them!

Just as they were upon him, Sesshōmaru faced them and raised his left arm. Even from here, I could sense its depleting aura and knew that he could only use it once. Then he attacked the riders. It happened so fast: one second, he was standing still, then the next he had torn through them. All the riders' heads had been ripped off of their necks and blood gushed out from their throats. It was over before it had even begun. I got up from my hiding spot and walked over to Sesshōmaru. He was glancing at the left arm, which had begun to rot. The aura in the arm was gone, destroyed by Sesshōmaru's more powerful one.

"It doesn't work anymore," I said and stopped up when I was a few feet away from him.

His eyes shifted over to me, cold and calculating as always.

"What're you talking about, human?!" Jaken exclaimed as he appeared next to me, "It tore right through those filthy scums like nothing. It worked splendidly!"

"You think so, Jaken?" Sesshōmaru asked emotionlessly.

"Yes, tis a fine arm you've got, m'Lord! Of course, it _would_ be, torn off an oni that _you_ …" Jaken exclaimed excitedly, but was rudely interrupted when Sesshōmaru stomped on his toad-like face.

"YAUGH!" Jaken squeaked when his face was squashed down against the earthy ground.

I sighed. When would Jaken learn it?

"Have you knotholes for eyes?" Sesshōmaru asked him icily, "This arm is rotting."

Jaken looked questioningly at Sesshōmaru: "I failed again, Sesshōmaru-sama?"

Sesshōmaru turned away from Jaken, looking at the rotting appendage still attached to him: "Find me a yōkai with a better arm. Or feel my wrath."

"Sesshōmaru …" I began and he shifted his cold gaze over to me, "It wouldn't work! Even if you got a new arm, your aura is too powerful and will destroy the remnants of the arm's aura. You should know this."

I felt his aura rise, clearly angry at me for voicing the problem at hand. He tore the arm off and threw it away. The arm immediately turned to dust before it had landed on the ground. Then I felt another presence, which sent chills down my spine. I turned in the direction of the presence just as someone spoke.

"In a spot of trouble, are we?"

Right where Jaken and I had hid, a humanoid was knelt in the knee-high grass. It was clearly a male if the voice was an indication of such. He wore the pelt of a white baboon which covered his features. I had a bad feeling about him, but I didn't voice it. What would Sesshōmaru do about him?

"You are that half-breed's elder brother. Lord Sesshōmaru, isn't it…?" the newcomer asked, his voice emotionless and conniving.

Sesshōmaru didn't respond. I glanced back at him and saw that he was looking at the pelted man with a cold gaze.

Then Sesshōmaru spoke: "And you are …?"

"Like you, one who despises InuYasha," the male answered ambiguously.

I didn't like the pelted man. His aura was that of a yōkai, but it was like he wasn't completely yōkai. He seemed off.

The man procured an arm from his pelt and presented it to Sesshōmaru.

"Here. Use this arm."

It was clearly a human arm. Why would he present a human arm to Sesshōmaru?

He should know that Sesshōmaru's aura would destroy it in a matter of seconds. Sesshōmaru looked at the arm emotionlessly, clearly thinking in the same path as I was.

Then Jaken squawked up in his shrilly voice: "What?! Do not mock my Lord! That is a _human_ arm!"

This didn't seem to deter the pelted man: "More precisely, a human arm impregnated with a Shikon shard."

_What! A Shikon shard!_ I thought shocked.

That's what Kagome and InuYasha were collecting … and me before I got kidnapped.

"And with a human arm, you should be able to grip the yōkai _blade_ your brother possesses."

This stunned me more than anything; how did this man know of the Tessaiga? And that Sesshōmaru wasn't able to wield it?

"The 'Wolf's Fang' is enchanted to protect humans. Thus, its mystic powers defies the grasp of a pure-born yōkai … such as yourself. Am I correct?" the man berated.

I really didn't like him. He seemed to know too much and was manipulating Sesshōmaru to go after InuYasha on his behalf. I didn't like how this event was turning out to be. Admittedly, it was an opportune moment; I would be reunited with Kagome, but this scheme was not ideal in my mind.

"Coward," Sesshōmaru then said indifferently, "You speak of despising InuYasha, yet you are afraid to face him … wanting to use me instead."

"Precisely," the pelted man said monotonously.

Just then, Jaken squawked up once more: "Y-y-you dare … ?!"

"Intriguing," Sesshōmaru said and I glanced at him, seeing a satisfied smirk on his lips, "I will take the arm."

Was he going to let himself be played? Be used as a mere pawn?!

Was Sesshōmaru's hatred for InuYasha so strong that he would do another man's bidding?

I was completely shocked and slightly angered by this. My right hand clenched into a tight fist, with my blunt nails digging painfully into my palm.

"L-Lord Sesshōmaru!" Jaken squawked surprised; I was certain of that he hadn't expected it either.

Sesshōmaru received the arm and attached it to his shoulder. Then he flexed the fingers on the newly attached arm, testing the new appendage's motor skills.

"There is one more thing," the pelted man said patiently, and I shifted my gaze back to him, "This hive …" he then pulled out an amber-colored orb with black markings on, "I believe it will come in handy."

"Traveling with InuYasha will be a young hōshi. And the hōshi may prove most troublesome of them all," the pelted man then said while holding out the amber hive in front of him, "I offer this. This nest of the Saimyōshō … they'll take the sting out of the hōshi's hand…"

"Give me your name," Sesshōmaru ordered coldly.

"I am called … Naraku."

_Naraku_, I thought grimly, _I must remember that name!_

"Naraku," Sesshōmaru said as he received the amber hive, "I shall remember it."

Sesshōmaru then turned around and began to walk away. I took it as our cue to leave. Then Naraku spoke once more.

"An interesting woman you keep as a companion, Lord Sesshōmaru."

I immediately stopped up, surprised with his comment. Did he know something about me?

"Seems to be human, yet under that lies something only a yōkai possesses," Naraku continued his little tirade.

I turned abruptly around and faced him: "What are you talking about?"

Naraku chuckled coldly at my question, and I felt more than annoyed with the situation. The feeling that he was trying to get under my skin was clear in my mind's eye, yet something in me told me that he was already there.

"So, you don't know?" he asked me in mock surprise, "Then I assume you don't know the origin of your sword, either?"

I shifted my eyes back to my sword, which rested peacefully in my obi against my back.

Then I turned my eyes back to him, scowling at him with annoyance: "If you want to say something, say it! Don't dance around the topic!" I snarled at him.

"All in due time, Aiko!"

Then he disappeared. I stood stock-still, completely taken aback. He knew my name!

I didn't know how long I stood there and looked at the empty spot where Naraku had been, but at some point, I shook myself out of my stupor and turned around. Sesshōmaru was watching me with his cold and calculating golden eyes, waiting for me.

"Do you know what _he _was talking about?" I asked Sesshōmaru desperately.

He shifted his gaze away from me and looked to the sky, but after a while and he hadn't answered, I sighed heavily. Of course, I wouldn't get an answer from Sesshōmaru. He rarely gave me an answer when I asked him something. Then he turned around and began to walk in the direction we had been headed on before the riders and Naraku. While I felt slightly dejected, I followed after him and turned the conversation with Naraku in my head, yet there didn't seem to be an answer to what Naraku had insinuated.

~oOo~

We had found a giant red oni to hitch a ride on. It was totally a cliché that we would be riding towards InuYasha and Kagome on an oni. Because it was how Sesshōmaru had attacked InuYasha the first time I met Sesshōmaru. The only difference now was that I was on the oni with Sesshōmaru and Jaken when we would meet InuYasha and Kagome. It had been a very long time since I had last seen Kagome, and I anticipated the meeting with nearly impossible amounts of excitement. I really had to control myself, since Sesshōmaru wouldn't be happy with me if I squealed with glee and jumped in my seat on the oni's shoulder. And kami, was it hard to contain my excitement.

The sun had almost sunken below the horizon, giving of a warm orange glow to the sky. The oni proceeded towards our destination, doing as Sesshōmaru wanted it to. All three of us were sitting on the oni's right shoulder in lotus position; Jaken sat closest to the oni's neck, then there was Sesshōmaru, and then there was me furthest out on the oni's shoulder. I really wanted to take a nap, but I couldn't quite find a good enough position and Jaken booked the space nearest the oni's neck. I could've used the oni's neck as support and rested a bit.

But then again, I felt too thrilled with the prospect of seeing Kagome again. Thinking back, I concluded that it had been about three weeks since I had been abducted.

How had Kagome faired in that time? How had InuYasha treated her? How many fragments of the Shikon Jewel had they been able to find while I was gone?

I would soon get some answers.

Just as the sun disappeared from the sky, I saw further up ahead a small village resting against the side of a mountain. As the stars began to twinkle in the sky and we approached the village, I felt the presence of InuYasha. Even though it had been so long since I last had seen them, I easily recognized InuYasha's aura. I changed position; my left knee rested against the oni's shoulder, and my right foot was planted solidly on the oni's shoulder, the knee bent so that I could quickly get up on my feet if needed. I rested my right hand against my bent knee to keep my balance while the oni neared the village.

_Almost there!_

I could feel Sesshōmaru's eyes on me, watching me intently to see what I would do. I ignored his stare and kept my eyes on the village, determined to abide my time and make my escape when it was just the right time. It wasn't time yet to escape, but soon. I would soon be free of Sesshōmaru.  
Come to think of it, Sesshōmaru hadn't been an awful captor: he could have easily tortured me, but he had been alright. Though we had butted heads from time to time, where he had showed off his dominance when he had had enough of me, there had been times when he had been considerate enough. Like when I had my period.

No … my time hadn't been too awful, but I didn't belong to him, though he probably thought that I was his possession. My place was with Kagome. Always had been and always will be.

And it would soon be goodbye to those embarrassments I had endured. Seriously, the kami just loved placing me in an awkward position which involved Sesshōmaru. I mentally sighed with the last incident I had with him. He had seen me naked! He had seen my breasts! It was so embarrassing, and I still hadn't figured out why he hadn't glanced away before I had hidden them from his view.

_*KR-KRAK*_

I must have been swallowed by my thoughts.

We had arrived at the village and the oni had just smashed a house by placing its hand on top of it. What a dramatic entrance. I began to search for InuYasha, knowing that Kagome would be right next to him – I could feel his presence was close by. And there …

They were standing on a stairway, but they weren't alone. A hōshi was standing behind to the right of InuYasha, and Kagome had a little kid on her left shoulder. The kid was definitely a yōkai, though his aura was weak – however, it wasn't a surprise considering that he was a kid. I felt suddenly sad, the feeling of being replaced felt overwhelming and awful. Had Kagome forgotten about me?

No. Kagome wouldn't abandon and forget about me so easily – we were like _sisters_.

"Sesshōmaru…" I heard InuYasha yell up in surprise.

Then Kagome's eyes met mine and I could easily see the relief in them – she had been immensely worried about me; I could easily tell.

"Aiko-chan!" Kagome yelled, happy to see me alive and well.

Without thinking I readied myself to run towards her.

"Kagome-chan!" I yelled just as happily back to her.

But as I was about to jump off of the oni's shoulder, I felt a hand clasp onto my left shoulder, restraining me. I glanced back and saw Sesshōmaru's right hand rested possessively on my shoulder. He gave me a stern sideways glance, a warning embedded in his golden hues.

Damnit, I had almost forgotten about him. He pushed me down so that I was sitting on the oni's shoulder once more. Then he jumped off and landed right in front of InuYasha.

Kagome – with the kid on her shoulder – and the hōshi ran for some place to hide, and InuYasha jumped back as well to avoid being too close to Sesshōmaru.

My eyes swept over to Jaken, who was watching the scene before us unfold with much glee. This was my chance to escape. Slowly I moved down the arm of the oni, while listening to the discussion between the two brothers.

"Feh… As ever, brother, your movements are simply too slow," Sesshōmaru said in his customary emotionless manner, his voice deep.

Goosebumps erupted on my fair skin at the sound of his voice. Why was his voice so enticing?

"Sesshōmaru! What do you want here?!" InuYasha yelled back at Sesshōmaru.

I didn't watch them; I was more focused on climbing down the oni's arm. At least the oni didn't react to me climbing on it.

"Don't ask such foolish questions," Sesshōmaru said coldly, a hint of a taunt in his voice, "I have come to see a man about a sword."

"Don't you know when you've lost?" InuYasha asked him with annoyance lacing his words.

I was now at the elbow of the oni and chanced a look at the scene below me. The brothers were facing each other, and there was approximately fifteen-twenty feet in between them. InuYasha was looking angrily at Sesshōmaru, but I couldn't see Sesshōmaru's facial expression due to him having his back towards me.

Good. His attention was on InuYasha, which just made my escape much easier. I continued my climb just as Sesshōmaru spoke up again.

"Draw it, InuYasha. I shall at least allow you a token of resistance."

This drew my attention away from my getaway and over to InuYasha who held his hand on a tsuka at his left hip. Then InuYasha drew the weapon, which seemed somewhat familiar, yet I couldn't quite figure out where I had seen it before. Wait a minute …

"This time, big brother, you're not getting away with just one less arm!" InuYasha yelled and jumped after Sesshōmaru.

That sword. Was that the Tessaiga that Sesshōmaru tried to rob from their father's tomb? But wasn't it just a rusty and battered blade?

The weapon in InuYasha's hand was definitely not a rusty old sword. It looked like a fang; it was like it had transformed when InuYasha had drawn it. The sword was easily as long as InuYasha himself and it looked powerful and sharp, and the blade was at least thrice as wide as the saya on InuYasha's hip. It must be how the sword worked, considering that it was made from a yōkai fang. It was quite fascinating to see such a development.

InuYasha swung the Tessaiga down at Sesshōmaru, who effortlessly dodged the attack.

"Just as I thought," Sesshōmaru said as he glanced sideways at InuYasha, "you haven't mastered the Tessaiga at all."

Not mastered it?!

It was transformed. But was that not its full potential? Did it have an ace up its sleeve?

Not like a sword had sleeves, but still … did it have a secret ability?

"What?!" InuYasha exclaimed angrily, "I what?! I'll show you mastery!"

InuYasha charged Sesshōmaru with his sword in his right hand. I couldn't help but study his movements. They were bad. Which was a mild way to describe them. His footwork was off, and I could easily tell what he would do next. Hadn't he been trained in how to fight with a sword? Maybe I should teach him, once this was over. I knew the basics, so it was a start.

InuYasha swung his blade at Sesshōmaru, but Sesshōmaru easily caught InuYasha's wrist and stopped the attack.

"The path of the blade is too obvious," Sesshōmaru said emotionlessly while he kept InuYasha's blade at bay, "You might as well be waving a flag."

Sesshōmaru was taunting InuYasha again. I had to agree with Sesshōmaru's words though; InuYasha's attacks were predictable.

A green glow formed around Sesshōmaru's hand. He was using his poisonous claws on InuYasha's hand in order to make InuYasha let go of his weapon.

Damnit. I needed to escape. Though I wanted to watch the battle between the two brothers, I had to get away from here and over to Kagome. I climbed the last bit and landed on the ground with a dull thud. When I glanced back to the fight, InuYasha had lost his weapon and Sesshōmaru was standing beside the rusty blade that was stuck in the ground.

Not good; he would be able to wield it because of the human arm Naraku had given him. Sesshōmaru grabbed a hold of the tsuka with his left arm, which was the human arm, and pulled it out of the ground. Then he slashed it at InuYasha, the blade turned white in mid swing. It was transforming into the fang; I could feel the aura shift in the sword. InuYasha barely dodged Sesshōmaru's attack.

"Allow me to show you, InuYasha," Sesshōmaru said as he held the fang in his left hand up and at the ready, "The true power of the Tessaiga…"

Then Sesshōmaru shifted his gaze up to the shoulder of the oni, where Jaken still was.

Shit! I needed to move before he saw where I was. I spotted the stairs on which InuYasha and the rest had stood upon and ran for it. But before I could hide, something caught me by the ankle and tripped me. I landed hard on my front upon the ground.

"OUFF!" I exclaimed as the air was knocked out of my lungs.

My eyes sought the culprit of my tripping and I saw that it was Sesshōmaru's fur that had wrapped itself around my ankle. I glanced annoyedly at Sesshōmaru who was glancing over his shoulder at me, his eyes shining with his irritation of me trying to escape.

"Stay put," he said to me coldly, then he glanced back up at Jaken, "Jaken."

"Yes, Sesshōmaru-sama?" Jaken asked, then caught onto what it was Sesshōmaru wanted from him, "Ah, yes, the yōkai of this mountain! We'll be flushing them out any moment now!"

While their attention turned to the mountain, which the oni – Jaken was riding on – faced, I tried to free myself of Sesshōmaru's fur. I gently pried it off of me and found myself free. But just as soon as the fur wasn't around my ankle anymore, the fur wrapped around my right wrist instead.

Damn that yōkai! I tried to pry it off of my wrist.

Then I heard a thunderous _*BOO~M*_ and I glanced up to what had made the sound. The oni had hit the mountain and from it arose a hundred yōkai, whom all tried to get away. In my few seconds of absent attention to my predicament, I realized, as I turned my attention back to my bound wrist, the fur had now ensnared them both.

Damn you, Sesshōmaru!

"Learn from your elders," Sesshōmaru said and I looked up at him and saw him staring emotionlessly at the yōkai that had arose from the mountain: "With but one swing…"

Before he finished his sentence, Sesshōmaru swung the Tessaiga and exclaimed passionately: "The master of the blade can slay an army of yōkai!"

Light sprouted from the sword. No, it wasn't light; it was Sesshōmaru's aura that got channeled through the blade and was made into an attack. The aura empowered attack crossed the plains and hit the yōkai from the mountain. And it obliviated them all. Destroyed them utterly. And with the same attack, Sesshōmaru managed to scar the mountain. It was so powerful that I could only sit on my rump and stare at the destroyed mountain, almost forgetting that my wrists were still bound by Sesshōmaru's fur.

"Thank you for your patience, little brother. Now it's your turn," Sesshōmaru said and I glanced back up at him and saw him pointing the Tessaiga at his brother.

I needed to do something; Sesshōmaru without the Tessaiga was a force to be reckoned with, but a Sesshōmaru with the Tessaiga was nearly unstoppable. What could I do when my wrists were bound?

My eyes landed on the fur-bound wrists and I vigorously tried to free them anew.

"KAGOME!" I heard a child's voice yell up.

My eyes sought up again and saw Kagome run towards InuYasha.

_No, she'll get herself killed if she stands in between them!_

"Stop!" Kagome yelled protectively of InuYasha and stopped up in front of him, arms spread out to shield InuYasha from Sesshōmaru.

_No, no, no, no! Kagome!_

Of all the things she could have done, this was simply the stupidest move she had made in all the time I had known her.

"NO! Kagome get out of there! You'll get yourself killed!" I yelled desperately as I once again renewed my attempts of getting free from Sesshōmaru's hold.

She looked over at me and I saw the panic written all over her face. But she stood fast and determination sprouted on her facial features. The fur tightened around my wrists and made the bones in my wrists strain under the pressure. I winced slightly at the ache in my wrists; Sesshōmaru was wordlessly warning me.

Then, as if I hadn't yelled to Kagome in my desperation, Sesshōmaru spoke once more, Tessaiga still raised up in front of him.

"The little filly from before… you came to die with him?" he said tauntingly and added emotionlessly: "How sweet."

"You wish," Kagome sneered at him.

Then InuYasha rose from his spot on the ground and stepped in front of Kagome in a protective manner: "Stay out of this, Kagome. My brother wouldn't think twice about killing a girl!"

_Yet here I am_, I thought sarcastically, though I would whole-heartedly agree with InuYasha's statement.

Then out of nowhere, the hōshi stepped up in front of InuYasha: "I will stand silently by no longer!" the hōshi said pointedly, his voice young and vibrant.

He couldn't be that much older than me. Maybe eighteen or nineteen…? Was this the hōshi Naraku had spoken of?

But then InuYasha stepped up in front of the monk.

"Will you stay out of this too?!" InuYasha asked him annoyedly, showing his irritation of having been behind the hōshi.

The monk was determined though, stepping up in front of InuYasha once more: "You have no hope alone, InuYasha."

"Nobody stands in front of _me_, Miroku!" InuYasha yelled at the hōshi, right in his face.

_This isn't the time to be the more macho man, InuYasha!_ I thought with exasperation.

"M'Lord, just leave them to me," Jaken then squawked, "There's no need to sully your noble hands on such as these."

Glancing back at him, I saw that he was still standing on the oni's shoulder, looking eager to fight on the behalf of Sesshōmaru. This imp was really a pest sometimes.

"True enough …" Sesshōmaru said in a bored manner, "and I will enjoy watching."

Just as Sesshōmaru had given Jaken permission to deal with the group, the imp made the oni attack. The oni's right hand shot forward, ready to crush all three of them.

"I'll smash them into jelly!" Jaken exclaimed excitedly with his shrilly voice.

_No!_ I thought and rose up from the ground, trying to run towards them.

But before I got far, the monk unwrapped some beads from his right hand.

_Wait, wasn't this the hōshi Naraku warned us about?_ I then thought again, and stopped up, … s_omething about his hand … what did he have in his hand?_

The monk had finally removed the beads from his hand, then he shot the hand right forward and yelled: "Kazaana!"

When he opened his palm, an intense howling came from his hand, and then it began to suck everything in front of it into the hōshi's palm. I felt the pull towards the hand as well, and would have been sucked into it too, if it weren't for the fur around my wrists. Speaking of fur, almost immediately after the monk's palm began to suck everything in, I felt a harsh tug on my wrists. And then I was pulled back and away from the vortex. I landed harshly up against a solid back and groaned with the force of the hit. When I opened my eyes, I saw the back of Sesshōmaru.

I felt a hand shut up to my elbow and tucked me tighter up against Sesshōmaru's back. When I glanced at the appendage, I saw that it was Sesshōmaru's right hand that was wrapped around my elbow. Sesshōmaru was protecting me from the hōshi's vortex with his own body.

I felt my cheeks heating up, and mentally scolded myself for being touched by Sesshōmaru's heroism. Now was definitely not the time.

"Stay!" I heard Sesshōmaru yell back at me over his shoulder, though it was hard to hear his words because of the howling of the wind.

This was probably one of the only times I intended to obey Sesshōmaru's order; I didn't want to get sucked into the monk's hand. I pressed myself further into Sesshōmaru's back, and he let go of my elbow.

It was scary! How had the hōshi acquired such a deadly ability?

He was only human!

I felt Sesshōmaru wrap his fur around my body in a protective manner, and I felt touched by Sesshōmaru's consideration of my well-being. Was Sesshōmaru worried about me?

Then I thought back on our dire situation. What were we gonna do? How did we stop the monk's vortex that came from his hand?

Naraku had warned us about the hōshi and had presented a hive of some sort to Sesshōmaru. Was Sesshōmaru gonna use it?

I thought I could hear loud buzzing-noises like that from a bee or a wasp, though it sounded like there were dozens of them. What was happening?

I couldn't see anything here from behind Sesshōmaru.

Suddenly, the howling of wind stopped, and the tucking sensation ebbed out almost immediately after. I blinked, then I stepped around from Sesshōmaru's back and glanced at the people in front of us, yet all I could see in front of me was a big swarm of giant wasps. I was completely paralyzed with fear: the wasps were so big and really terrorized my nerves due to my fear of bugs. Did they come from the hive Naraku had given Sesshōmaru?

The wasps then charged forward – away from us – and attacked the group in front of us.

"Yōkai begone!" I heard InuYasha shout out and saw him attack the wasps with his claws.

As InuYasha destroyed the wasps, I could see the monk on the ground, but he looked like he was in pain. I knew the wasps had everything to do with the monk's worsened state, and I felt bad for him, but he did try to suck us into his vortex. It had been a necessary evil. But then I registered that Kagome wasn't there. Where was she?

She wouldn't have been sucked into the hōshi's hand because she had been behind him when he had unleashed the vortex. Did she ran off to somewhere? Maybe to find some help for the monk?

"Thank you for that entertaining diversion," Sesshōmaru then said once all the wasps had been killed by InuYasha.

Sesshōmaru then raised the Tessaiga, ready to attack InuYasha with that powerful attack he had used on the yōkai from the mountain. I had to do something, but what?

"You may die now," Sesshōmaru then said.

_No, he may not!_ I thought and then I acted irrationally.

I charged at Sesshōmaru, putting all my weight into the push I intended to do. I collided with his right side, and apparently, I had taken him by surprise, because I managed to push him to the ground, though I had so much momentum on that I fell on top of him. Above us I heard something swish past us, but I didn't get to see what it was.

"What do you think you are doing, woman?" I heard Sesshōmaru's deep voice growl underneath me.

I glanced up at him and saw his golden eyes were narrowed at me with anger. Yes, I just managed to piss him off yet again, but I didn't care; I had to protect my friends.

"What does it look like?" I asked him coldly, "I'm protecting them from you!"

The sclera of his eyes began to turn red with his ire, but I chose not to react to it. I felt myself being lifted off of his body by the fur that was still wrapped around me. It forced me down to a kneeling position on the ground and Sesshōmaru got up from the ground and glared deadly at me. I scowled back at him, angry that I somehow still was his captive. I wanted to break free from his hold, but the fur was so tight around me that I couldn't do a thing, other than scowl angrily at my captor.

Sesshōmaru had apparently had enough of me for now because he turned his back towards me and faced the dead oni – the hōshi had managed to suck off its face with his vortex – and I just then registered InuYasha's aura from behind the faceless dead beast.

"It's useless to hide!" Sesshōmaru exclaimed angrily and swung the Tessaiga at the oni.

The aura in the weapon rose and made the powerful attack, destroying the oni completely. I began to panic; he had killed them!

"Well … that was worth one oni," Sesshōmaru said emotionlessly.

But just then, I registered that InuYasha's presence was still there. So, they had survived. I mentally sighed out with relief. Thank the kami.

"I'm not that _easy_ to kill!"

InuYasha sprang forth from the uprooted earth and jumped after Sesshōmaru.

"At least not until you come leaping out!" Sesshōmaru responded to InuYasha's statement, anger simmering in his deep voice.

Sesshōmaru then swung the Tessaiga down at InuYasha, and I could see that InuYasha wouldn't be able to dodge the swing. I closed my eyes and prayed for a miracle.

_*WHAK*_

That was definitely not the sound of sword cleaving through flesh. I opened my eyes and saw that InuYasha was holding his saya up in front of him, blocking the Tessaiga. A minute passed by, where InuYasha just held off Sesshōmaru's attack.

Then Sesshōmaru said in a taunting manner: "Do you honestly believe that the saya will defeat the blade?"

InuYasha snorted at Sesshōmaru's taunt: "This is no _ordinary_ saya, you know!"

InuYasha then pushed Sesshōmaru backwards with all his might, while exclaiming passionately: "I can split your _head_ with it, at least!"

"Then show me!" Sesshōmaru shouted at InuYasha and swung the Tessaiga at him.

Sesshōmaru's fur released me as he went after InuYasha; I was finally free. Quickly I jumped up and looked for somewhere to run off to, so that I wouldn't be captured by Sesshōmaru once more.

"Or must I imagine it…" Sesshōmaru said deadly, "…after you've died?"

The Tessaiga hit the saya in InuYasha's hands once more, blocking the attack Sesshōmaru made. Then I heard Kagome yell 'InuYasha', and I hastily turned around and saw her aim her bow and arrow. I was relieved to see that she hadn't been harmed and I hastily ran towards her. She let loose the arrow she had knocked onto the string of her bow, and it tore through the air at great speed.

_*KRAK*_

I stopped up and glanced back at Sesshōmaru and InuYasha and saw that the Tessaiga had transformed back to its rusty form. Did Kagome's arrow force it to transform back to that form?

_*TNK*_

An arrow – Kagome's arrow – pierced the earth a bit away from the brothers. How did she … Did it have something to do with her being the reincarnation of the late miko Kikyō?

I glanced back at Kagome, just as she knocked another arrow to her bow.

"Sesshōmaru!" Kagome yelled and took aim, "The next one hits you!"

Was she going to kill Sesshōmaru? What had happened to her?

I felt confused and conflicted. I didn't want Sesshōmaru to get harmed, but my loyalty was with Kagome. What should I do?

I stood stock-still halfway towards Kagome, and halfway away from Sesshōmaru.

"InuYasha! Get _out _of there!" Kagome then yelled.

I glanced back at Sesshōmaru and felt a pull towards him. I couldn't let Kagome kill him.

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**A/N: And that's that for this Sunday. I hope you don't die with anticipation for the next chapter (I know that I'm cruel for leaving it on such a cliff hanger, but I'm not sorry for doing so). Please leave some reviews for me to read; I really want to know what you guys think about it. And if you have questions, just ask, though I can't promise you to answer it to the fullest, because of spoilers and such, but I will try to answer them to my best attempts. Enjoy your week, and I'll be back next Sunday. Ciao!**


	11. Chapter 11 - At It Again

**A/N: Hello again, at last it's Sunday and a new chapter is on the menu. But first, a big thanks to crystalsky24, AnimeLoverKenzo3, and for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. And a big thanks to those of you that have put my story on their Alert-list and all of you for reading my story. It means a whole lot for me that you use your time to read my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**I hope you'll enjoy this newest chapter:**

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**Chapter 11 – At It Again**

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I couldn't let Kagome kill him!

"I don't miss Sesshōmaru! Next arrow …" Kagome yelled fiercely at Sesshōmaru, still holding her aim true on him, "I sever your arm!"

Wait, his arm? Did she mean the human arm Naraku had given Sesshōmaru? She wasn't going to kill him?!

I suddenly felt relieved that she wasn't going to kill him.

"I can see it! The Shikon shard!" Kagome then yelled.

She could see the Shikon shard in the human arm?

I just then remembered that she was able to sense and see the Jewel shards. I guessed that it had something to do with her being Kikyō's reincarnation; she must have inherited this ability.

She let the arrow fly, and I watch it zoom towards its target with bated breath.

Sesshōmaru dodged it. It must be his yōkai senses that made him react so fast.

"Th-this time …!" Kagome uttered in annoyance and hooked another arrow onto her bow.

Then InuYasha yelled: "Kagome, _no_!" he sounded panicky, "_RUN_, before …"

But before he could finish his sentence, Sesshōmaru leapt after Kagome. He raised his right hand up, preparing to strike Kagome with his poisonous claws.

"Die."

I stood frozen on the spot; he was going to kill her, and I wouldn't be able to reach her in time.

"_NOOO~!_" I heard InuYasha roar out in fear.

And in the blink of an eye, InuYasha was right next to Sesshōmaru and swung his claws at Sesshōmaru: "_I'm your enemy_, brother!"

InuYasha roared at Sesshōmaru and struck Sesshōmaru on the cheek with his claws. Blood trailed from the small cut InuYasha had made on Sesshōmaru's face. For InuYasha to even have made such a small scratch was more than lucky. Sesshōmaru leaped away from the pair.

"He _dodged_ it!" InuYasha exclaimed with irritation of the situation, which Kagome added: "All he got was an extra stripe on his cheek."

I began to worry about Sesshōmaru as I watched the blood trail down his cheek. What was wrong with me?

I shouldn't worry about him; he had held me captive and prevented me from being with Kagome! I should be mad at him.

"Heh, you're quicker when defending your wench …" Sesshōmaru said coldly his eyes narrowing at InuYasha.

He ignored the cut on his cheek, more focused on getting rid of InuYasha … and Kagome when she threatened him. I had to do something. I wanted them to stop fighting each other. It affected me more than I wanted it to, seeing Sesshōmaru hurt.

"Huh. Save the bad jokes!" InuYasha uttered angrily, then he turned slightly towards Kagome: "That's enough, Kagome. Get out of the way."

That's when I saw it, quite visible now that I had registered it: InuYasha cared for Kagome and would protect her with his life. Much had happened in these three weeks I had been away from them.

InuYasha then turned his attention back at Sesshōmaru: "I've found you out, Sesshōmaru. Why a full-blooded yōkai like you can wield our father's blade, when you shouldn't even be able to touch it. That arm …"

InuYasha glanced at the left arm that held the Tessaiga, "It's from a human! Attached by a Shikon Jewel shard."

Then InuYasha flexed the claws on his right hand while he continued his monologue: "So if I _rip_ that arm from your shoulder, you won't be able to _touch_ the Wolf's Fang anymore. Not only that …"

InuYasha leapt after Sesshōmaru with his right hand in front of him: "…But I'll get a new _shard_ in the bargain!"

"Heh," Sesshōmaru scuffed at InuYasha while he readied himself for InuYasha's attack, "_If_ you can tear it off."

InuYasha struck his right hand out after Sesshōmaru, but Sesshōmaru easily dodged the attack. Sesshōmaru retaliated with an upper cut with his right hand, which hit InuYasha right on the right cheek and sent him skating over the ground, his body burrowing a pathway through the earth.

InuYasha now sported a burned wound in the form of Sesshōmaru's fist, right under his right eye. Sesshōmaru must've covered his hand with his poison.

"You…" InuYasha sneered at Sesshōmaru as he got up from the ground.

"Yes. I," Sesshōmaru taunted InuYasha, "You should know better than to mar your elder brother's face," Sesshōmaru then said icily.

They stood and stared at each other, and I could only observe them from where I had been standing since I had been freed from Sesshōmaru's fur and had ran towards Kagome. I wanted to do something, but at that moment, I couldn't.

I felt useless; even Kagome had done more than I had, and I was supposed to be the protector. Not the other way around. Anger rose within me. Anger at my inability to act and do something.

InuYasha charged Sesshōmaru again. And just then did I register that the Tessaiga was still in its rusty form.

So, Kagome's arrow still had an effect on it?

If it hadn't, then Sesshōmaru would have made it transform by now. I should help InuYasha get the Tessaiga back; it didn't belong to Sesshōmaru. Tentatively, I moved closer to the battling brothers, drawing my ōdachi from my saya. I just needed the right moment.

"You're running away!" InuYasha exclaimed exasperatedly as Sesshōmaru dodged InuYasha's attack yet again.

"Heh. That's right. From sheer boredom," Sesshōmaru taunted InuYasha yet again, then struck out with his right hand.

"Dokkasō_!_"

Sesshōmaru hit InuYasha's left shoulder, burning InuYasha's suikan with the venom that enveloped his hand. I still walked over to them, watching out for an opportune moment to strike at Sesshōmaru.

Then suddenly an arrow flew through the air and struck Sesshōmaru, shattering his armor. My gaze shifted to the side, and I saw Kagome with her bow in hand, readying a new arrow.

"_HYAAH!_" InuYasha roared out as he punched Sesshōmaru right in the gut.

This clearly annoyed Sesshōmaru as he sneered: "What nuisances! You and she deserve each other…"

Then he grabbed InuYasha by the throat with his right hand and threw him in the direction of where Kagome was standing. InuYasha collided with Kagome and pushed her away with the momentum of his falling body. They landed harshly, InuYasha on top of Kagome, a few feet away from where Kagome had been standing. I felt my anger rise; Sesshōmaru dared to hurt Kagome.

Now was the time to strike. Stealthily, I readied my position, standing in the waki-gamae, hiding my sword with my body, my left foot in front of my right. Sesshōmaru's focus was on InuYasha just as Tessaiga transformed into the giant fang once more.

"You'll have each other … for eternity…" Sesshōmaru said coldly as he held Tessaiga up in front of him.

While I held my position, I slowly and soundlessly moved closer to Sesshōmaru, my focus on his arm that wielded the Tessaiga. I was approximately fifteen feet away from him.

"Your friend is going on ahead of you … to hell," Sesshōmaru said coldly.

_Stay calm, Aiko_, I thought to myself while I crept closer and closer still.

I tuned out everything except for my target: Sesshōmaru's left arm. The sound of buzzing reached my ear, but I soon tuned that out as well.

Seven more feet to go, then I would be within reach to sever the human arm from Sesshōmaru; and the Tessaiga. I saw Sesshōmaru raise his arm up to make an attack against InuYasha. I was almost there. Four feet … three feet … two feet. Just as Sesshōmaru swung his arm, I made my attack.

The arm flew with the momentum of Sesshōmaru's swing. I had cut off the human arm, just below the elbow. Ōginsairensā had cut right through Sesshōmaru's kimono and severed the arm off. Blood gushed from the open wound on Sesshōmaru's arm.

I felt Sesshōmaru's surprise more than I saw it. My eyes followed the path of the flying arm, until it landed in front of InuYasha who stood with shock written all over his face. Silence fell over us as we all stared at the severed arm holding the rusty blade of the Tessaiga. I righted my position and swung my blade to the side, shaking off the blood on the blade, and then I sheathed it.

"The blade is yours, InuYasha!" I yelled stoically while I stood with my right hand on the tsuka, the gentle thud sounding from my weapon as it was sheathed completely.

Sesshōmaru turned his eyes towards me, wrath shining strongly in his eyes, the sclera turning red at their edges. InuYasha quickly reacted and picked up the severed arm and tore Tessaiga from its grasp. As soon as InuYasha was holding the tsuka of Tessaiga, it transformed yet again into the great fang. But before InuYasha could use the sword, Sesshōmaru charged forward and pierced his remaining hand right through InuYasha's chest. Blood flowed freely from the wound as Sesshōmaru pulled his hand out and leapt back, standing right beside me. I was shocked as I looked at InuYasha and saw the blood color his already red suikan an even darker red.

InuYasha coughed up blood and fell to his knees. The tip of the Tessaiga pierced the earth, yet InuYasha held strongly onto the tsuka. Tessaiga was now in front of InuYasha as some form of shield.

"L-l-look!" Jaken exclaimed from somewhere on the other side of Sesshōmaru, "H-he just passed out, my Lord!" Jaken then added in his shrilly voice.

I kept my eyes on InuYasha, praying that he would stand up.

"Not another step," Sesshōmaru said right next to me.

And just as he had said it, I felt Tessaiga pulse with InuYasha's aura, and the same attack Sesshōmaru had performed earlier on the yōkai from the mountain struck out towards Sesshōmaru's left, ripping up the earth.

"EEP!" Jaken shrieked surprised; the attack had been meant for him, "B-b-b-but … H-he didn't even swing the blade…!"

Silence once more befell us and stretched out for a long time. Then I felt Sesshōmaru's fur wrap itself around me and I glanced down at the member with surprise. I got pulled towards Sesshōmaru who then grabbed a hold of me and tossed me over his right shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I was so surprised that I didn't know how to react, nor could I find my voice to say a word.

"We're going, Jaken," Sesshōmaru said as he turned around, "So long as I cannot wield the blade, there is no point in dawdling."

Then Sesshōmaru began to walk away, with me slung over his shoulder, and I was utterly bewildered and caught in a stupor to do anything about my recaptured state.

I could only watch as InuYasha became smaller and smaller as we took to the sky and moved further and further away.

~oOo~

I was still slung over Sesshōmaru's shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A while back I had finally freed myself from my stupor, but I chose to not try anything out. I felt too exhausted at the moment. Besides, Sesshōmaru's fur was extremely soft and smelled nice. I found myself hugging it to my chest and sniffing in the scent; like nature itself smelled after a rainy day.

Naraku's wasps were buzzing around us, following us as we flew. I was simply too tired to care that they were giant bugs. My eyes were closed, so I couldn't see them, and I had Sesshōmaru to ward them off.

"M-m'Lord…?" Jaken suddenly asked with his usual squawk, "How long will these Saimyōshō follow us?"

"Oh… I suppose…" Sesshōmaru said emotionlessly, "they are waiting for me to abandon the Shikon shard within this arm."

I felt Sesshōmaru move his arm that held unto my legs and over to his left shoulder, his upper arm holding me in place so that I wouldn't fall off.

Curious of what he was doing, I tried to turn my head in the direction of his left shoulder. But all I had in my view was his long silvery hair. I wanted to see!

Desperate to see what was happening, I pushed myself upwards, supporting my weight upon his shoulder, then I twisted my torso towards his left shoulder and could barely see the skin of the human arm trying to snake up over Sesshōmaru's own flesh, like it was trying to take over him. I gasped at the view in front of me.

"EEP?!" Jaken exclaimed just as shocked as me; "The … the skin of the arm … it's snaking over your own flesh…?!"

I felt myself become worried for Sesshōmaru's well-being and clenched my hands into his shoulder, his kimono folding in between my slender fingers.

"Mm… Attempting to devour me, I see…" Sesshōmaru said calculatingly.

Sesshōmaru then moved his right hand over to the small lump that was left of the human arm. Then he grabbed a hold of it and tore the arm off of his remaining left upper arm. His arm then moved away, and the support I had from his upper arm disappeared from the back of my knees. Desperately I clung onto him, drawing my knees up into his armpit in order to not fall off of his broad and muscular shoulder. I fell fore over, and my face got buried into his fur, almost overwhelming me with its lovely scent. I felt my cheeks heat up with the slight embarrassment of liking the scent of his fur so much.

I felt him swing his arm, and I guessed that he had thrown the lump of a human arm at the wasps surrounding us. Then his hand sought back to my legs to have a hold on me once more. But to my surprise, his hand landed on my upper left thigh and I wiggled a bit by the unexpected touch. It was really inappropriate how high his hand was on my leg. My cheeks flushed intensely. Luckily, my face was buried into his fur so that he wouldn't see my reaction to his touch.

The buzzing of the wasps began to diminish, but then I registered that the sound never disappeared as I had expected it to. I began to wiggle in Sesshōmaru's grasp, so that I could see what was happening. Just as I had managed to right myself to glance behind me, Sesshōmaru clenched his hand around my thigh and I squeaked up in surprise by the pressure. His hand felt warm and strong against my legging-clad thigh and it sent pleasurable shivers up my spine. Dear kami, I liked his touch too much. My heart began to beat faster while his hand held tightly onto my upper thigh.

"Lie still, woman," Sesshōmaru said in his customary cold voice, though his tone was laced with slight annoyance.

"But I want to …" I began, but I interrupted myself when I felt his claws dig warningly into the flesh of my thigh.

I let myself go slack against his muscular shoulder and the pressure of his hand ceased. Silence befell us with the exception of the distant buzzing of the wasps ahead of us. I was still curious as to why the buzzing hadn't stopped yet.

"Are we following them?" I asked against his fur, my head once more buried into its fluffiness.

"Hn," was Sesshōmaru's only answer.

Another minute of silence filled the space between us. I didn't feel satisfied with the answer and wanted to know more.

"Why?" I then asked quietly.

My hands was holding around the fur, tugging it up against my face, and overwhelming my senses with the nice smell of it. I could feel my cheeks was slightly heated and I knew that I had a light blush on them. Underneath me I felt Sesshōmaru tense up, just the slightest, but enough for me to register it. Especially since his hand on my thigh twitched with, what I guessed was, irritation. My heart skipped a beat as his hand did the twitch. Why was his hand resting so high up on my thigh?

But other than the slight tension, Sesshōmaru made no indication of wanting to answer my question. I let out a tired sigh and closed my eyes. My body felt sore and I felt completely drained from energy. With the scent of Sesshōmaru's fur ever-present against my nose, I slowly drifted off to a light slumber.

~oOo~

When I awoke, it was to the feeling of descending. The air around us shifted as Sesshōmaru took us to the ground. I felt groggy and blurry-eyed when I lifted my head up from Sesshōmaru's fur, and I already missed the softness against my face and the scent of fresh nature enveloping me. Glancing around, I saw that we were in a forest. I heard Sesshōmaru's feet land softly on the forest floor. Then to my displeasure, Sesshōmaru let go of me and I fell harshly to the ground.

"UFF!" I exclaimed when I landed painfully on my rear.

"Quiet," Sesshōmaru said coldly while he righted his kimono back over his bared left shoulder.

I managed to steal a glimpse of his chiseled chest and couldn't prevent the blush that spread over my cheeks. His skin was unblemished and looked like a sculpture of a Greek god. His skin was fair and almost begged me to touch it.

_Stop it, Aiko! Now who's the pervert of the group?!_ I scolded myself mentally and shook my head from side to side, trying to shake the image of Sesshōmaru's chest from my mind.

I heard Sesshōmaru walk away, and I opened my eyes to see where he was headed. Then I felt a nearby presence and knew that it was Naraku's aura that I was sensing; in the same direction that Sesshōmaru was headed towards. Hastily I got up and followed after Sesshōmaru. I knew better than to utter a word or make a sound, considering the situation we were headed towards.

The buzzing of the Saimyōshō sounded just up ahead. Sesshōmaru stopped and stared ahead. I stopped up as well, right behind Sesshōmaru, and watched the scene in front of us with bated breath.

In front of me was a clearing with a stream running through the scenery. One of the wasps flew down to the humanoid shape that waited for it. The man was dressed in a white baboon pelt that covered his features. His aura told him off, and I knew that it was Naraku, yet, the aura seemed to be incomplete, like he wasn't really there. I spoke no words while I observed the event; the wasp carrying the remains of the human arm where a shard of the Shikon Jewel was embedded, stopped up in front of Naraku and let go of the arm. Naraku was holding the arm up in front of him.

"So, Sesshōmaru … we both failed, it seems …" Naraku said calmly to the arm in his hand.

Sesshōmaru moved; one second, he was right in front of me, the next he was right behind Naraku. Damn, how could one be so fast?

Naraku must've registered the presence of Sesshōmaru because he jumped away from Sesshōmaru immediately after Sesshōmaru had landed right behind him, turning around in the air so that he was facing Sesshōmaru. Tentatively I walked closer to what was happening.

"Well … Lord Sesshōmaru…" Naraku said in a conniving manner.

This guy really gave me the creeps. Jaken jumped forth and stood right beside Sesshōmaru, squawking at Naraku like only Jaken could squawk.

"Naraku … you scoundrel! You gave the great Sesshōmaru-sama that arm in order to capture him?!"

Naraku dug his slender human-like fingers into the arm and dug out the small shard embedded in the dead flesh: "Don't be a fool. I only added a little something that would enable me to retrieve the Shikon shard I lent you…"

I was standing a few feet behind Sesshōmaru, a little to the side so that I was able to observe the happenings. I then registered that the buzzing of the wasps had disappeared.

"Hn," Sesshōmaru said coldly to Naraku, "Prepared for everything…?"

Then Sesshōmaru struck his right hand at Naraku, going in for a killing blow with his deadly claws. But I registered that Naraku's presence disappeared just as Sesshōmaru touched the pelt that Naraku had left. The motion of Sesshōmaru's hand sliced off the head of the pelt, but I knew that Naraku had escaped, reclaiming the Jewel shard he had lent Sesshōmaru. The head rolled on the forest floor, sounding hollow even to my ears.

"HA HA!" Jaken exclaimed victoriously while he jabbed his staff against the empty head pelt, "Now you see what happens to one who dares to …"

Sesshōmaru interrupted the annoying imp, before Jaken could finish boasting about his Lord's _victory_: "Silence."

His gaze rested on the pelt, completely devoid of any emotions, "He is gone…"

"Eh?" Jaken asked confusedly, then hastily headed over to the pelts that lied on the ground, empty.

"GAK! Where _is_ he?" Jaken squawked.

Then the forest seemed to vibrate as Naraku's presence seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, scrambling my ability to pinpoint his position.

"Mind your anger, friends…" Naraku's voice rung all over the clearing, "Later … When I see another means to kill InuYasha… I may call upon you again…"

His presence disappeared completely after his last words. I sighed with relief that the situation hadn't turned sour; I was still tired and wouldn't be up for a fight.

Still … that Naraku really rubbed me in the wrong way. What was his problem with InuYasha?

Why did he want to kill him so innately?

I couldn't figure him out, and I didn't like it one bit. Especially not when he knew something about me that I didn't know. I recalled the conversation from earlier in my mind.

… "_An interesting woman, you keep as a companion, Lord Sesshōmaru." … "Seems to be human, yet under that lies something only a yōkai possesses." … "So, you don't know?" … "Then I assume you don't know the origin of your sword, either?" …_

What did he mean with what he said?

Before I could try to figure it out, I heard Sesshōmaru mutter to himself: "What a terribly clever fellow you are…"

"M'Lord? What does the great Sesshōmaru-sama wish to do?" Jaken squeaked up in his shrilly voice.

Silence filled the air after Jaken's question and tension rose thickly. The wind blew gently and made Sesshōmaru's kimono sway gently with the wind, the ruined sleeve of his kimono indicating its empty state. I felt troubled with the eerie silence that stretched out even longer.

Sesshōmaru turned around and stared at me, his golden eyes unreadable. In less than a second, he moved from his spot and stood right in front of me. My heart pounded incredibly fast in my chest as I hadn't expected the move. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights when I stared up into his eyes. The sclera had a slight red shimmer to them, indicating that he was angry. I nervously swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat while I anticipated an attack to come from him.

"You," Sesshōmaru growled at me threateningly.

I didn't dare to speak. I knew that I was in some deep shit, and I knew the reason why: I had attacked him, cutting off the human arm that had held the Tessaiga. Of course, I should've known that he would retaliate at some point. The tension in the small space between us was so thick that it could be cut with a dull knife. Minutes passed by, where no words were spoken, and he only stared down at me with his golden eyes. It was like he was waiting for me to explain. My tongue darted out to moisten my dry lips, and I tried to form the words in my mind before I spoke.

"Yes," I whispered hoarsely.

Silence stretched on for a while longer before I continued, unable to pull my gaze away from his golden orbs: "I had to … you harmed my friend."

His hand shot out and caught a hold of my throat. He then forced me back and up against a tree. The bark of the tree burrowed sharply into my flesh, and the hand around my throat twitched with barely restrained anger. Our eyes locked once more and his sclera seemed to had turned redder, yet not completely devouring the white.

My hands rested against his wrist, subconsciously using him as an anchor for my turmoiled emotions. He was threatening me because I had harmed him. But he had harmed Kagome. I had to protect her, even at the cost of harming him. Though it hurt me to had have to go to such measures.

I was so conflicted by my emotions. Back when Kagome had raised her arrow against him and I thought that she was going to kill him, I had feared for his life. It had scared the shit out of me when I had stood in the dilemma of choosing between my friend – my _sister_ – and my kidnapper.

"You may not understand my reasons, but I had to protect Kagome," I whispered to him and felt tears gather in the corners of my eyes.

The tears soon escaped their confinements and rolled gently down my heated cheeks.

"You had tried to kill her, and I couldn't abide… Kagome is my sister … though we aren't of the same blood; she is my _sister_!"

I felt so much turmoil in me. And it hurt. I wasn't ready to spill myself completely to him, but he had to know some of my past to be able to see my point of view.

"She has always been there for me. You know not half of the shit I've been through, but she does! And she supported me and helped me through my darkest days!" I felt slightly angry, mostly because of my emotions seemed to be in uproar, but I was at the same time desperate to make my point clear: "… Even though I didn't like it… I was forced to harm you … I had to … to protect her…"

_And you_…

Silence was our only companion while he kept me in place. His eyes were locked with mine, and slowly the red in his eyes began to diminish, to then completely disappear. His eyes were, once more, cold, yet unreadable as he held my gaze. The tears kept rolling down my cheeks, slightly stinging my heated flesh. His hand twitched against my neck, flexing like he wanted to clench his hand into a fist. But he wouldn't be able to do so as long as his hand was around my neck, without risking breaking it and kill me.

"Next time … I will kill you," he said emotionlessly to me.

I smiled sadly at his statement: "I know … but I'll always protect her, even if it means my life."

Something changed in his eyes, like he was seeing something happening before him that only he could see. It looked like he was somewhat surprised by my words. He let go of my throat and took a step away from me, though his eyes were still locked with mine.

I suddenly felt cold when he wasn't standing so close to me; he was so warm that I could use him as a blanket on a cold night – his bodily heat just rolled off of him. Mentally, I scolded myself for such thoughts. He had just said that he was going to kill me the next time I dared harm him, yet I couldn't help myself. I felt bereft of his nearness.

He turned around and walked away, his gate as elegant and graceful as ever, like he hadn't just threatened me. Angrily I dried my eyes with the sleeve of my osode. He passed Jaken and continued to walk away from the clearing we had been in and in between some trees. At least Jaken knew not to speak at the moment as he glanced at me, to then hastily follow after Sesshōmaru. I took a deep breath and then followed after Sesshōmaru as well.

We followed the stream from a distance while we walked through the forest, with only the light of a crescent moon to show us the way. I felt so tired, both physically and mentally. It had been mentally draining, the _discussion_ I had had with Sesshōmaru. Not that it was really a discussion, more like he physically threatened to kill me, and I defended myself with my words, to him giving me a _fair_ warning. Reluctantly, I had slightly opened myself to him, though I didn't give him any details. But Sesshōmaru wasn't stupid, and he had probably linked my scarred back to the meaning of my _shit_ and _darkest days_. I was kind of surprised that he hadn't just killed me off yet and had given me a warning. What was I to _him_?

I really wished I knew the answer to that question, but like many of the questions I had, I didn't have an answer to it.

The birds in the woods began to chirp cheerfully, indicating that dawn was on the rise.

Great. We had been walking all night now. I was really tired but didn't voice my need for sleep. The earlier happenings still too fresh for me to demand my needs being sated. We continued on, but I felt that I could barely hold my eyes open.

Damnit. I didn't want to be a nuisance to Sesshōmaru. I was sure that he had had enough of my antics to last for a decade. I just had to press forward. One leg in front of the other. But damn, my body was trying to work against me. It ached and every step felt like it weighed a ton. I was so tired that everything blurred into each other. My feet stumbled as I almost fell over every miniscule twig that was on my path.

The forest then thinned out into a small clearing, which made my steps easier yet not less heavy. Sesshōmaru stopped up in the middle of the clearing.

"Jaken," Sesshōmaru then said after a while and glanced over his shoulder at the imp, "We rest here."

Those were the sweetest words I had heard in my entire life. I sighed in relief and sunk down to the ground like a meat bag without bones. Sluggishly I removed my sword from my obi and laid it on the forest ground, then I let myself fall fore over and I was out like a snuffed out candle.

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**A/N: That's it for this time; I hope it was satisfactory. Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of it: I would really like to hear/read your thoughts.**

**Anyways, not much from me today, other than: enjoy your week and I'll be back next Sunday.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Two Heads

**A/N: Hello, hello. Here we are again with a brand new chapter to appease you lovely readers. But first: I have a load of thank you's for you guys. Last chapter was a big hit with you guys, as far as I had been able to register. So, thanks to AquaRoseWaters, jess114, EffyinNeverland, WildCat3139, hellraiserphoenix, and Goldenwrite3411 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. Another big thanks to all of you who have put my story on their Alert-list, and to all of you for taking the time to read my story.**

**And here is a special thank you to LadyEssiecat, Kagz419, and Yakitori-Chan for leaving a review on my story: your lovely words made my heart sore to the beyond; I was so ecstatic to read your appraising words that it's impossible to describe. I even did a little jig at my mother's place when I read LadyEssiecat's review. All three of you have my eternal gratitude for your reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: This chapter contains domestic abuse as well as hinting towards unconsented intercourse/sex. If you're not up for reading this, it's easily skippable as the section containing the dark material is right in the beginning of this chapter and ends with "**~oOo~**". You have been warned.**

**In no way am I a person that consents to such behavior, but sadly for some people, this is an everyday happenstance.**

**Now that's all my ramblings for now, so enjoy this chapter, which contains a surprise:**

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**Chapter 12 – Two Heads**

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_I was in the kitchen and fetching a beer for _him_. The one I despised more than anyone. My steps were heavy as I dragged myself back to the living room to deliver the beer bottle. I slid the door open and walked over to him, his sickly green eyes watching my every move when I approached him. I knelt down in front of him – like he wanted me to do – and presented him the bottle of beer with my eyes cast down to the floor. Just how he liked it the most; me being submissive to him._

_He took the bottle and began to chug at it greedily, not sending me away like I wanted him to. A sigh came from him when he removed the bottle from his lips, and I felt his eyes on me. I didn't look up at him, even though I wanted to defy him. I despised him with my whole being._

"_Where's the sword?" he asked me coldly._

_I didn't answer him; he would never get his hands on my father's sword._

"_Where's the sword, you stupid girl?!" he yelled at me and flung the half full beer bottle against the wall._

_The sound of glass breaking was nerve-wracking, but I remained silent, my eyes cast down. This time it was an act of defiance to not look at him. His hand clamped around my neck, squeezing it tightly. I could hardly breathe. He pushed me to the floor, hovering over me while he held his hand against my fair neck. I wiggled underneath him, trying to get away from him. I hated him!_

_My hands scratched against his broad and masculine hand at my throat, and my heels kicked at the floor, trying to push myself away from him._

"_WHERE IS IT?!" he roared at me._

_I didn't look at his face – I didn't _want_ to look at his face. My eyes closed to physically shield myself from the sight of him. I couldn't bear to look into his sickly green eyes. He pulled me up slightly, enough for my head to leave the floor, then he smashed me down against the floor, my head meeting the tatami floor painfully. It hurt like hell._

"_You won't get it!" I sneered in a whispery manner, "No matter what, you won't get it! I will not let you sell it so that you can have more beer!"_

_This pissed him off. He threw me onto my front and pushed me harshly against the floor. I knew what was coming now. I heard him dig into his pants and then I heard the swish of his knife as he folded it out. He ripped my blouse up in the back with the help of his knife, then he worked his knife against the skin of my scarred back, with wounds that were still in the healing process. He stuck the sharp blade into my left shoulder, deep enough so that it would leave a scar, yet shallow enough so that I wouldn't get hospitalized. Then he cut the skin from my shoulder and down towards my spine. He removed the knife and let it hover over my marred skin._

"_One," he counted, his sadistic glee evident in his voice._

_My body was shaking, but I didn't scream out in pain, nor did I whimper. I took the pain like the tough girl I was, pretending that it wasn't happening at all. He moved the knife to my waist, hovering it over the place for a few seconds before he repeated his assault. He stuck the blade in and cut my skin from my left side and towards my spine._

"_Two," he counted, his voice breathy as he worked himself up._

_Sadistic bastard! He righted his position over me, sitting so close to my ass that his hardness was pressing hard in between my buttocks. I didn't like where this was going; I didn't want him to take me again! I wiggled while I tried to get away from him, but that motion got punished with him sticking his blade a bit too deep into my left shoulder blade. He retracted the blade a bit and cut the skin in a downward motion._

"_Three!"_

_The arousal in his voice was clear and I felt myself panic. The clattering of the knife hitting the tatami floor rung in the room, and then I felt him yank my skirt down, accompanied with my panties. The sound of his zipper opening was so horrifying that I froze on the spot. He was going to claim me again!_

_He forced my legs apart and pulled my ass up so that the angle was just right for him. I didn't want this! Why did he do this to me?!_

_I felt the head of his length at my opening. He was going to tear my body apart! In one harsh motion, he entered me fully. I screamed in agony, with hot and salty tears streaming down my cheeks. My nails were scratching against the tatami floor, trying to claw myself away from him. He stayed deep inside me and leaned in over me. His disgustingly hot breath landed on my ear, reeking of beer._

"_I will break you!" He whispered against my ear and I felt my body shudder in horror._

_He retracted himself from me until only the head was in. Then he rammed himself brutally into me again …_

~oOo~

I gasped panicky as I sat upright. My heart hammered so fast in my chest that it was almost painful. I clutched a hand against my ever-beating heart and tried to quietened it down. A nightmare. Or rather, a bad memory turned into a nightmare.

I was sweating and panting heavily as I had been woken harshly by the nightmare. I closed my eyes, but quickly opened them again when the after image of my nightmare was still playing at full force. How I wished that I could just forget it all.

My heart gradually slowed down until it was back to its regular slow beating. My breathing was still too airy though, but at least I wasn't hyperventilating. I glanced around at my surroundings and saw that it was nighttime, and I was in a clearing. The same clearing, we had arrived at this morning. Jaken was snoring, fast asleep with the Nintōjō clutched possessively against his chest. I couldn't see Sesshōmaru anywhere in the clearing.

The sound of a slow-running river met my ears, and I felt compelled to go seek it out. I grabbed a hold of my ōdachi and got up on shaky legs, then I headed in between the trees that covered the river from sight. When I reached it, I knelt down before it, placed Ōginsairensā right next to me, and dug my hands into the icy cold water. Then I leaned over the stream and splashed the icy water unto my face.

Damn it was cold. The iciness of the water chased away the remnant of my nightmare, and I sighed out in relief of getting rid of the after image that had plagued me since I had woken up. I removed my hands from my face and stared down at the moonlit waters, my reflection blurred.

I hated that I was still plagued by nightmares from time to time. And they were always about _him_. I had come a long way, yet I still wasn't strong enough to not be affected by those damnable nightmares. My scars throbbed like _he_ was still cutting his knife into my skin.

My eyes sought upwards and I glanced up to the heavens. The stars were twinkling kindly down at me and the crescent moon showered me with its gentle light. I let out a tired sigh and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I remembered what _he _had said in the end of the nightmare.

"You'll never break me!" I whispered coldly while I watched the twinkling stars above me.

Then I felt Sesshōmaru's presence: he was right behind me. None of us moved. He knew that I knew that he was there. The wind blew gently around us, and I felt that I was ready to face him. I got up from my kneeled position, grabbed my sword, and slowly turned around to face him. My green eyes immediately got caught by his golden ones. They were unreadable once more, and I wondered what he was thinking. He was far enough away from me to give me my personal space, yet close enough for me to touch him if I stretched out my hand towards him. His presence was soothing me at that moment.

Time seemed to stop while we stared into each other's eyes. Then Sesshōmaru shifted his gaze so he could take in my appearance, and I took the opportunity to do the same to him. His kimono was whole once more. I guessed that it was a new one even though the motives were the same as the previous one's. But then I got puzzled about his armor; it was still broken.

"I see you've gotten a new kimono, but what about your armor?" I asked as I glanced back up to his face.

His face was handsome, with his right cheek looking smooth and sporting his magenta yōkai marks; it wasn't wounded anymore nor was it scarred. He didn't answer me.

I found myself stepping closer to him, invading his personal space. My focus was on his healed right cheek. I could feel his eyes observing me. When I was right in front of him, with only inches in between our bodies, I lifted my left hand to touch his cheek. He stood completely still but watched my hand intently when I touched his cheek. The cheek was so smooth and felt warm against the tips of my fingers that were touching the fair skin.

"Your wound has healed … not even a scar left," I whispered fascinated.

I removed my fingers from his cheek and sought out his golden eyes, which quickly landed on mine.

"It must be nice to have such an ability," I whispered gently, "I wish I had something like that."

My thoughts drifted to my scarred back. I felt slightly envious of Sesshōmaru's ability to heal so quickly, but I knew it was his yōkai blood he could thank that for. I was only a human and would forever bear the scars of my past. Then I realized how close I was to him and hastily took a step back.

"Sorry … I didn't mean to intrude," I said hastily, a light tinge on my cheeks.

He didn't say a word, only stared into my eyes. His eyes were completely unreadable, and I wondered what he was thinking about yet again. But I couldn't find my voice to ask that question. His eyes then swept away from mine and looked down to my left. I followed his gaze, but I didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly his hand shot out and grabbed a hold of my left hand. He pulled it up in front of him and stared at it intently. I couldn't move because of the shock of his action. What was he going to do with my hand?

His grip wasn't hard or tight. It seemed … almost gentle, which seemed so strange. I felt my cheeks heat up more, and I knew that I was blushing with fluttery feelings. He kept staring at my hand, which he held up in front of his face. Then to my utter surprise, he took a step towards me and led my hand up to rest on his cheek once more. My fingers met the smooth skin of his and I felt almost breathless. My eyes glided to his, only to see his eyes were softly narrowed at my fingers touching his smooth cheek. His hand was resting on top of mine while he let me touch his cheek with my fingers. It was so strange and quite intimate. He then gently put pressure on my hand, so my whole hand was touching his cheek, his eyes still softly narrowed at my hand.

My thump began to caress his cheekbone on its own volition. And I was completely surprised when he closed his eyes and let my thumb caress the smooth skin of his cheek. Was he enjoying my touch?

I could see his face seemed to soften, and he seemed to be enjoying the caress of my thumb. This was so alien to me: I've never seen Sesshōmaru act this way. But I didn't really mind it. In fact, I enjoyed it immensely.

I didn't know how long we stood like that, but suddenly Sesshōmaru opened his eyes. Just the slightest. He was watching my hand once more. Slowly he led it away from his cheek, and I thought that was the end of this weird event. But then he led them to his lips. My fingers barely touched them, but I gasped when I felt his lips on my fingertips. They were immensely soft. I could only stare at my fingers barely touching his lips. My heart beat rapidly in my chest. This was definitely extremely intimate and so confusing to me. What was he thinking? Why was he letting me touch his face this way?

I then began to wonder: how would his lips feel against my own?

Dear kami, what was he doing to me?

I shouldn't be thinking like that! It was less than twenty-four hours ago that he threatened to kill me. Yet here we were, standing so close and touching so intimately. What should I do?

My eyes kept staring at his inviting lips, with my fingers only ghosting the soft lips of his. Then I felt his gaze shift and land on me, and I immediately responded to the motion. My eyes shifted up to his. I couldn't breathe; his eyes were shimmering so beautifully that they took my breath away. They were so magnificent, and I was completely spellbound by them. Then his eyes shifted lower and I had a feeling that he was staring at my lips. My face felt hot and I was convinced that my whole face was red. His hand left mine and then he grabbed a hold of my chin. Not a forceful or painful grip, but a gentle hold, which he used to gently force my head upwards. I didn't know what to do, not even with my hands. My left hand sought something to grasp and fell from his face. It landed on his chest, resting close to his heart, which was beating slow and steadily. Then my fingers wrapped gently around his kimono, and my right hand moved up to rest near my own heart. It was clenched into a fist around my osode and I could feel the fast and heavy beating of my own heart. He affected me so much.

Then I felt his thumb move up and land softly on my lower lip. I moaned breathlessly at the simple touch. Dear kami, it was almost too much for me. I closed my eyes and felt his thumb caress my lower lip slowly. It felt so good that my body felt like it was on fire. My body began to feel so sensitive and kind of ticklish. His thumb put a bit more pressure on my lip and I couldn't help it. I moaned.

It felt so good and I began to wish for more. It was such a simple touch, yet it was so intimate and made my heart beat so rapidly in my chest that I thought it was going to beat out of it. He then let go of my lip, and I suddenly felt deprived of his touch. I was about to open my eyes when I felt his hand wrap around my body, his hand resting on my lower back. Quickly he pulled me in close to him. I gasped when I felt his body press up against mine. Both my hands were now resting on his kimono-clad chest; his heartbeat still regular, though mine almost exploded in my chest. What now? What was he going to do?

I felt his nose touch my left cheek; his breath hot on my jaw. Was he going to _kiss_ me? The great Sesshōmaru, who despised humans, was about to _kiss_ me?

His nose left my cheek and I felt his hot breath land on my lips. My lips parted slightly, and a gentle moan escaped them. My eyes were still closed as I felt his lips hover over mine. He was going to _kiss_ me!

Suddenly he moved away, and I blinked confusedly. When I opened my eyes, they landed on his face, and I saw that he was glancing up at the sky. Then I felt a presence approaching us. A yōkai's presence. Hastily he stepped away from me and I almost lost my balance when he moved away. I quickly found my balance before I could fall. What had just happened?

I was pretty sure that he had been about to kiss me! And I wanted it badly now. Damn you kami for your implacable timing!

Hastily, I picked up my ōdachi, which I had dropped to the ground. When had that happened? Holding it in my right hand I glanced up to the sky in the direction of the presence, trying to see the approach. Then I spotted it; it looked like a two-headed beast of some kind. It was approaching us, and really fast. As I thought it was about to attack us, it steered itself a bit to the right. A mighty roar of agony sounded from it, and then it landed in the clearing with a big bam. Jaken squeaked up in surprise, and the sound of the ground being uprooted filled the air. Panicky, I ran past Sesshōmaru and in through the bushes that hid the small river we had been standing next to. When I had passed the foliage, I spotted Jaken lying on his back a few feet away from the two-headed beast. The beast itself had its eyes closed like it was in pain.

Then Jaken squawked up in his shrilly voice: "Where in the hell have you been, stupid dragon?"

Did Jaken know the beast? And wait … did he just say dragon?

Both heads of the dragon growled at Jaken as its answer. At least I thought it was meant to be its answer. Or is _it_ a _they_?

I felt Sesshōmaru pass me by as he walked over to the yōkai in the middle of the clearing. Sensing that I wasn't in any danger, I followed after Sesshōmaru until he stopped up. I stopped up right beside him and studied the new yōkai in front of me. It was big; they could easily carry multiple people of my size without a problem. Its scaly skin was green and both heads were sporting a luxurious mane of black hairs.

I really didn't know if I should call it an _'it'_ or a _'they'_ in my own head! Quite frustrating actually. Then I saw that there was a saddle on its/theirs back. Was the dragon yōkai Sesshōmaru's mount of some sort?

I then spotted, at its hind leg, a grave wound with a broken spear stuck in it.

"It's wounded," I said alarmed.

I gently laid my sword on the ground and stepped closer to it. Both heads glanced at me, their yellow eyes assessing me to see if I was a threat. Slowly I moved forward, with both my hands raised up in front of me, showing it that I wasn't going to harm it.

"Ssh, it's alright … I'm not going to hurt you…" I said soothingly to the yōkai while I slowly moved closer.

Both heads then sniffed the air, like they were smelling me, then the heads of the yōkai rested against the ground, closing their eyes with agony written all over their faces.

"Jaken," I then said over my shoulder, without glancing away from the dragon yōkai, "Do we have more of that willow bark?"

"What do you need that for?" he squawked up with irritation towards me.

"Do we?" I asked, keeping my voice low and unthreatening, so that I didn't aggravate the dragon yōkai.

"Yes," he said annoyedly.

"Then brew it so there is enough for this yōkai," I said gently.

This apparently annoyed Jaken immensely: "Do that yourself you filthy girl! I'm not your maid!"

I let out a sigh and was about to turn towards him to reprimand him, but Sesshōmaru suddenly spoke up.

"Jaken," he said in his usual cold voice, a short pause broke the speech, then: "Do as she tells you to!"

Sesshōmaru's voice seemed stern, yet still emotionless as usual. I was surprised that he had told Jaken to do what I had told him to do. So, he wanted to let me help this dragon yōkai, it seemed.

"Yes Sesshōmaru-sama!" Jaken squawked fearfully and I heard him scour over the ground in a hasty pace.

I was now within reach of the dragon and slowly knelt down near its left head. Tentatively I moved my right hand out to touch its neck. My eyes swept up to the yōkai's head and saw that he was watching me with narrowed eyes. Gently I stroked the scales of its neck, soothing it until I could give it some of that willow bark tea for its pain.

"It's okay, just try to relax. Soon it will be better," I said while I stroked the slick scales of its neck.

On occasions, I let my hand seek out its mane, which was soft to the touch. I couldn't help but wonder how Sesshōmaru's hair would feel like in between my fingers: were the strands as soft as his fluffy fur?

Quickly I shot that thought down. It wasn't the time to think about Sesshōmaru! This yōkai needed my help.

The yōkai didn't seem to mind my touch as its eyes were closed.

Soon I heard Jaken return, water sloshing onto the ground. I guessed that he had fetched some water. With Jaken working on making that willow bark tea in the background, I kept myself occupied with comforting the injured yōkai.

Time seemed to pass by quickly. When I felt Jaken behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Jaken holding out a wooden bowl with hot steaming tea in his hands.

Turning around I received the bowl of tea.

"Thank you, Jaken," I said and moved so that I was sitting in front of the yōkai instead.

I knelt down and presented the bowl of tea for it, though it didn't seem to want to comply.

"Drink this," I said gently to it.

Both heads opened their eyes and watched me intently.

Then I added: "It will help with the pain."

It seemed to be enough for them. The right head dug into the tea fist, its tongue lapping at the tea. When half of the bowl's content had been ingested, the right head moved away, and the left head moved forth to drink the rest.

"Good boy," I whispered kindly to it and gently caressed its mane on the right head.

The bowl was now empty, and I removed the bowl from in front of them. I then got up while it closed its eyes, waiting for the tea to work its magic.

"Jaken, get some cloths and some bandages ready," I said while I moved over to the injured leg, "I also need hot water and that ointment you've used on me."

He didn't respond to my commands, but I heard him get to work. I knelt down in front of the injured hind leg and assessed the wound. A few scales were missing due to the spear that was jabbed deeply into the leg. The handle had been broken off, only leaving a small stump near the metal of the blade. I rested my left hand gently on its upper thigh, a few inches above the wound. The yōkai groaned with pain at my simplest touch.

I shushed at it soothingly: "It's okay, we'll get this out of you so that you can heal."

It let out another agonized groan but stayed still under my hand. What a patient creature.

Jaken ran back and forth from somewhere in the clearing and over to me with the things I had ordered him to bring me. When all the items were there, I thanked Jaken and got to work. I pushed my sleeves up over my elbows and then wrapped my right hand around the implemented spear in the yōkai's leg.

"This is going to hurt," I said while I secured my grip.

I rested my left hand on the leg near the wound, with a clean cloth at the ready to stop the unavoidable bleeding. The dragon huffed a breath of air, and I took that as its consent to proceed.

_Here goes_, I thought and began to pull the broken spear out of the dragon's leg.

It roared out in pain and began to thrash under my hands in order to get away from the pain. Its tail swung from side to side, banging against the ground frantically.

"Someone grab a hold of him! I can't pull it out while he's thrashing!"

But to my surprise, Sesshōmaru came up behind me and wrapped his hand over mine; the one around the broken spear. His hand was almost twice as big as mine and engulfed my feminine hand with its warmth. Then he pulled and the broken spear was removed from the wound in one swift motion. The yōkai roared up with pain but stopped thrashing. I quickly moved my left hand over the bleeding wound, putting pressure on it with the cloth in hand. Sesshōmaru then quickly let go of my hand and moved away from me, giving me enough space to work. Hastily I dropped the broken spear into the empty wooden bowl that had been used for the tea.

Then I hushed at the dragon, stroking its scales in a soothing manner with my right hand: "The worst is over."

The yōkai seemed to calm down a bit at my gentle words.

"You can rest now," I then added gently while I kept pressure on its wound with my left hand and was stroking it comfortingly with my right.

It relaxed under my touch, and soon I sensed that it had fallen asleep. _Good_.

I then began to work on the wound. I cleaned its wound with the hot water and then smeared the ointment into the wound, keeping my touch as gentle as possible. Soon after I wrapped the wound with the bandages. Work complete.

I sighed out with relief while I sat back on my heels, closing my eyes in the process. All that there was left now, was for the yōkai to take it easy and let his yōkai blood heal him up. I guessed that it would take a couple of days for the wound to be healed completely. I opened my eyes and got up from my kneeled position. Glancing around me, I saw the bloodied cloths and red water. I picked the things up and headed towards the river but stopped up when I saw Jaken.

"Jaken-san," I said and got his attention, "You know what he eats, right?"

He scowled at me as he impatiently waited for me to get to the point, which I did: "Could you find something for the yōkai to eat once he's awake?"

"I'm not your servant, you stupid girl?!" Jaken squawked annoyedly, his yellow eyes bulging out of their sockets.

Before I could retort to his comment, Sesshōmaru spoke yet again: "Jaken."

His voice was so icy and when I shifted my gaze to him, he was glaring at Jaken with his deadly golden gaze. Jaken quickly disappeared, probably to search for some food for the injured dragon. Satisfied that I didn't have to do that as well, I continued on towards the river. I heard Sesshōmaru following me, but I chose to ignore him. I had better things to do, like cleaning the bloodied items and figure out the previous occurrence. Had he really been trying to kiss me?

I began to think that it must've been a spur of my imagination; Sesshōmaru hated humans, so why would he get so close to me?

I knew that I was in denial about the occurrence, but it just didn't make any sense at all. It must've been me imagining … maybe I had still been dreaming?

I shook my head and knelt down beside the river and began to clean the clothes and bowl. That was then that I spotted my hands were covered in blood. I glanced down and saw that my osode had been bloodied as well. Sighing with the nuisance of having to clean my osode as well, I glanced over my shoulder and saw Sesshōmaru standing in front of a tree, his eyes intent on me. Another sigh left my lips as I sat up on my heels and turned my torso towards him.

"Do you mind giving me some privacy for a bit?" I asked impatiently.

"Why?" he asked me emotionlessly.

Was he for real?

"I need to wash my osode…" I deadpanned.

He didn't seem to respond to my words, so I continued in the same manner: "… meaning that I need to take it off…"

He kept staring at me emotionlessly with his cold eyes but didn't move away to give me some space. It was beginning to be really annoying.

"Then take it off," Sesshōmaru suddenly said aloofly, "It's not like I haven't seen what you have to offer."

My face turned beet red at his comment. Why did he have to bring that up?!

I jumped up in annoyance and scowled at him.

"Seriously?!" I exclaimed exasperatedly, "Can't you just do what I ask of you?"

He scowled at me, clearly disliking my tone. What was his problem?

He couldn't expect me to just accept him stand there while I undressed. This was so ridiculous that I could've laughed at it if it wasn't for my irritation of him being so stubborn.

"Fine! If you want to watch … !"

I didn't know what came over me, but I began to untie my black obi. His golden eyes shifted down to my hands that worked on my obi. When it was undone, I let it fall to the ground. My osode began to part when the obi wasn't keeping it in place anymore. I could feel my cheeks heat up with slight embarrassment. But he had asked for it!

I quickly removed the bloodied osode and let it fall down to the ground as well. Now, I was only standing in my leggings and bra which supported my amble bosom.

"There … are you happy now?!" I asked annoyedly as I literally presented him a good view of my stomach and bra-covered breasts.

At least my front wasn't marred like my back was, sporting a smooth and fair skin. His eyes landed on my bosom and I felt annoyed as he stared at them. Kami, he was really a pervert!

"What?" I exclaimed fiercely.

He blinked, but kept his eyes on my breasts … was it maybe my bra that he wasn't familiar with?

Curious with what got him so intent on them, I glanced down at my chest. My bra had been bloodied too by the dragon's blood. It must've soaked in through the osode. Great, I needed to clean that as well. I sighed and began to undo the clasp on my back, then I turned my back towards him and dropped the bra to the ground.

I was now showing him my scarred back which hadn't been the plan. Why didn't I think things through?

I covered up my breasts with my arms and stared at my feet. It was embarrassing to have him watch my back. I could feel his eyes rake up and down my battered back, assessing every scar there was on the once fair skin. Most of them I had received from _him_. What was Sesshōmaru thinking of my back?

I had been caught up in my thoughts because I hadn't registered that Sesshōmaru had moved closer to me. Not until I felt his clawed hand touched one of my scars. I gasped at the surprise of feeling his warm hand on my back.

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**A/N: And CUT! Don't you just love cliffhangers? The anticipation and expense for what will happen next? I both hate them and love them; I'm always like: "No, you can't end here! What will happen next?!"**

**Were you surprised with A-Un's appearance? I have a confession to make: when I first started writing this story, I had completely forgotten A-Un existed (bad me!). If I hadn't read ahead in the manga and watched the anime, I wouldn't have concluded him until **_**much**_** later. Maybe… **

**But anyways… I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know in a review of what you thought of this chapter. Until next Sunday, enjoy your lives and don't do anything illegal (trying to be funny here, though I think I butchered it). :P **


	13. Chapter 13 - Revelation and Temptation

**A/N: Ahh, at last it is Sunday, and that means a new chapter. First off, a big thanks to jacquie1122, moonlight1ify, and LokiIsMyGod12 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. Also, a big thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my story and to all of you who have my story on their Alert-list.**

**Next I would like to thank Yakitori-Chan, Yuki, and LokiIsMyGod12 for leaving a review; it really warms my heart to read your lovely words, and I would like to give you guys a few words back.**

**Yakitori-Chan: I am so happy that you liked how I wrote the intimate moment between Sesshōmaru and Aiko. I really like to write those moments and I love to build up the anticipation and exhilaration two person can feel in between them. And about Rin: I haven't gotten so far in the writing process yet, but I have many **_**lovely**_** ideas of how things are going to happen. :)**

**Yuki: I can tell as much that there will be more romance in between Sesshōmaru and Aiko, but real romance comes with time (literally in this case as I intent it to be a lo~ng story. I'm currently working on chapter 23 and I'm still only in the ninth manga). As for Sesshōmaru being unpredictable; that's how I see him in the manga and anime – when you think you've figured him out, he makes a drastic decision, like when he rescued Rin from Koga and his wolves, so I try to stay as true to his **_**unpredictable **_**character as best as I can, while present him for a love interest (aka Aiko). I won't spoil the ending, so you'll just have to continue reading it. :P**

**LokiIsMyGod12: Thank you for loving my story. Only time will tell what will happen when Rin gets into the story. ^-^**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: This chapter is a bit steamy, and there will be mentions of sexual assault, but not in graphic details. You have been warned.**

**Now, this was a long AN, but I hope that you'll bear with me and my thankful soul. We continue on from last chapter … ACTION:**

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**Chapter 13 – Revelation and Temptation**

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I was almost paralyzed when he touched my back. A gasp escaped my lips when his warm fingers ghosted one of my scars. At first, I couldn't think clearly, but when I finally registered that he was touching my marred back, I jerked away from his hand.

"Don't touch them!" I hissed in anger.

I hated those scars and was more than embarrassed by them. I didn't want him to see them nor touch them. Abruptly I turned around, my arms covering my naked breasts as I faced him. His brows were furrowed over his golden eyes, which were deadly cold like he was seething with anger. For all I cared, he could be as angry as he wanted, but he wasn't allowed to _touch_ my back!

"Tell me how you acquired them," Sesshōmaru then said in a deadly tone like he only barely held in his anger.

I didn't know if his anger was turned towards me, but I felt panicky at his request of explaining them. Painful memories jagged into my mind, all demanding to be remembered. All at once. It hurt immensely and I felt my heart beat painfully in my chest. It was like someone was squeezing my heart in a tight fist and sending harmful electricity through it.

Sesshōmaru's face seemed to darken and his brows furled impossibly over his icy golden eyes. I had a feeling that he could see the pain in my eyes. The pain of being forced to remember how I got my scars.

"Tell me!" he demanded me with a growl.

I couldn't speak. I didn't _want_ to speak of it. Because if I did, I would only make the memories into a reality, and I wasn't ready for that. Hot and salty tears began to stream down my face.

"I can't!" I hissed out and tore my gaze away from his.

I wasn't free from his gaze for more than a few seconds. His fingers wrapped around my chin, forced my head up, and recaptured my green eyes with his golden ones. His eyes glided over my face, shifting between my eyes, and glancing at the hot and salty tears that streamed down my cheeks. His eyes became unreadable, yet they were still filled with his deadly coldness. He let go of my chin, only to grab a hold of the back of my head, his claws putting a mild pressure on my scalp.

"Don't make me tell you!" I whispered panicky.

"Why?" he asked simply, while keeping his eyes on mine.

I gulped nervously: "Because it's too painful."

Silence spread between us while we stared into each other's eyes. The tears kept streaming down my cheeks as I was afraid of revealing my darkness to him. I didn't want him to judge me if he knew the story of my scars.

He broke the silence after a while: "Tell me."

His voice was cold, but there wasn't any anger in his words. I felt compelled to tell him, even though it was painful. I bit sharply into my lower lip while I tried to formulate my thoughts to speech.

"Most of the scars on my back … was made by a _monster_," I sneered the word 'monster' as the mere mention of _him_ made my blood boil with anger, "… _He_ tortured me for three years!"

I closed my eyes for a few seconds before I glanced back into his unreadable golden eyes. The dam had been broken and I was unable to hold my pain and my anger back. My hands moved away from hiding my breasts and sought out his kimono, clinging to the silky fabric. I needed him as a physical anchor for my torment.

"_He_ was a sadistic bastard! _He_ enjoyed the pain he afflicted on me!"

My whole person hurt, both physically and mentally. It was simply agony to tell Sesshōmaru of my scars. Of those dark and painful memories. It was simply too much for me. I stepped closer to him and burrowed my face into his chest as I wailed with the pain I felt. I could feel his body stiffen at my sudden clinginess, but I didn't care – I needed to hold on to him. If I didn't, my body and soul would crash and burn. When I had moved closer to him, his hand that had held the back of my head had released its hold. I only registered that it had been gone because I felt him place it gently back on the back of my head, lightly pressing my head closer into his chest. My hands tightened around his kimono in a desperate hold and I pressed myself closer still to his warm, broken-armor-clad body. I kept crying, my salty tears soaking into his kimono. I suddenly felt weak and my knees began to buckle. When I thought that they were going to give out on me, I felt his fluffy fur wrap around my naked back and holding me upright. Even as his fur felt exquisite against my back, I didn't really register it because I was more focused on clinging to Sesshōmaru and relieve my heart of the agony in it.

I managed to exhaust myself completely with my crying, and I found myself … fallen into oblivion.

~oOo~

I was slowly waking up, though I didn't really want to. Something soft was wrapped around me, embracing my naked back and my stomach. I didn't really think about it. The warmth that seeped into me came from underneath me. I could feel silk under my hands, and I wrapped possessively around the smooth fabric, snuggling myself closer to the warmth that emanated from underneath the silk. My breasts were pressed against something hard, yet I could feel the same silky fabrics rub against my naked breasts. It felt good and I let out a soft sigh of contentment.

I suddenly felt eyes rest upon my head. Someone was watching me intently, which puzzled me. The soft item that was wrapped around my back and stomach tightened a bit. I grumbled at the pressure but didn't think any further on it as I was more than pleased with my position upon the warm and silky surface I was lying on.

It was then that I registered an enticing scent close to my nose. It reminded me of nature after a rainy day. Tempted by the scent, I snuggled closer to the origination of the scent. I sniffed the spot and felt myself being overwhelmed by the scent, which now had a hint of cinnamon added to it. A hum of satisfaction left my throat while I burrowed my nose into the spot. My nose met the feeling of something smooth, like human skin. That didn't make sense in my mind. Then I felt my silky bed stiffen and become rigid. Something really didn't add up. Though I didn't want to, I slowly opened my eyes and immediately saw fair skin. I blinked multiple times and slowly moved my gaze upwards, seeing a magnificent jawline.

_Wait a minute?!_ I thought with surprise and immediately pushed myself away so I could see.

My eyes glided from the jawline, over a pair of magenta stripes on a beautiful and smooth cheek, and up to a golden eye with slits as its pupil. My eyes shifted from one eye to the other multiple times, seeing them stare back at me with an unreadable gleam in them. Then I finally figured out that I was lying on Sesshōmaru. Casting my eyes down, I saw my hands were resting on his muscular and kimono-clad chest, with my fingers clinging to the silky fabric. The kimono was ruffled and slightly parted, exposing some of his fair-skinned chest. My eyes glided further down, and I saw my breasts were lightly pressing against his chest as well, a few inches beneath my hands. I immediately began to blush.

_Dear kami, I've been sleeping upon Sesshōmaru's chest!_

Once more, something tightened around my back and stomach, and I glanced over my right shoulder. It was Sesshōmaru's fur that was wrapped around me, hiding the majority of my scars, and keeping my body warm. This was so embarrassing. I must've cried myself to sleep after I had somewhat revealed how I had gotten my scars. But why had he let me sleep on his chest?

I really needed to find my osode and get dressed.

Hastily I pushed myself away from his chest, covering my naked breasts with my right arm, so he wouldn't see them completely. But just as I had completely stretched myself away from his chest – by using my left arm – he put pressure on my back with the help of his fur and pushed me back down against his chest.

"UFF!" I exclaimed as I landed hard against his muscled chest and felt the air get knocked out of my lungs.

My arms got locked in between my naked torso and his muscular one. Added with the pressure from his fur, I was stuck in place.

"Who told you to get up?" Sesshōmaru asked me with his usual emotionless voice, though with a hint of humor and taunting laced into his words.

I glanced up towards him, but with the angle I had, I wasn't able to look him in the eye. I huffed out a breath of air, annoyed at my predicament.

"Did you expect me to stay here once I woke up?" I asked him with mild annoyance.

I felt his eyes on me, but he chose to stay silent. Why couldn't he just answer my question?

I sighed defeatedly and closed my eyes, "Where's my clothes?"

Silence stretched out for a bit, and I was beginning to think that he didn't want to answer any of my questions.

"Drying," he suddenly said, his voice cold as usual.

"Drying?" I asked confusedly, "You mean that they've been washed?"

"Hn," he said as an affirmative.

Before I could ask who had done so, he said in a low tone: "Jaken."

I blinked blankly: "You mean that Jaken has washed my bloodied clothes?"

Another "Hn" came from him as an affirmation of my question.

I furrowed my brows: "I could've done that myself! It isn't fair that you forced him to wash my clothes!"

Once again, he didn't say a word.

It really wasn't fair that he had made Jaken wash my clothes; Jaken would only ever touch anything belonging to me, if Sesshōmaru had ordered him to do so. Then I thought that Jaken must've washed my bra as well. Quite embarrassing. But then again, he probably didn't know what it was for.

Then I remembered that I was still lying on Sesshōmaru's chest, with my naked breasts mashed up against his kimono-clad chest. The need to find something to cover myself with was persistent. I tried to push myself away from his chest once more, but he must've anticipated my movement, because his fur pressed me down harder against his chiseled chest.

I huffed annoyedly at my predicament.

"I would like to get some clothes on!"

He didn't seem to react to my request at first, but then he spoke lowly in his cold voice: "You don't have any spare clothes."

What? Wait, he went through my things?!

That bastard! Those were basically my only possessions; my sack and my ōdachi. Didn't he know what privacy meant?!

"You went through my stuff?!" I exclaimed and tried to push myself away from his chest once more.

This time, it wasn't only his fur that put pressure on me, but also his right hand. His hand pressed my head against his shoulder. My nose almost digging completely into the crook of his neck. His scent enveloped my senses, almost overwhelming me with its appeasing aroma. Kami, how I loved the scent of him.

"Quiet," he growled lowly at me while he kept pressure on my head.

My cheeks heated up and I felt slightly dizzy with the scent of him. I could feel his claws against my scalp, putting a bit of pressure onto the sensitive skin. Chills ran down my spine at feeling of his claws against my scalp. Not the bad kind of chills, but the mind-numbing, ticklish kind of chills. Added with his lovely scent that kept assaulting my nose, I was completely at his mercy as my body surrendered completely to the sensations it got.

"Sleep."

His command made me feel extremely tired. But at the same time, I felt fevered with his body so close to mine. The knowledge that only a thin layer of silk was separating my naked breasts from rubbing against his muscular chest was intoxicating. I suddenly wanted more, which I immediately reprimanded myself for. I really shouldn't react to his closeness like I was.

His claws in my hair scratched my scalp lightly, sending pleasant shivers down my spine. I closed my eyes and let a gentle breath of air out of my nose. I clenched my hands tighter around his kimono and burrowed my nose completely into the crook of his neck. His scent was so enticing for me that I couldn't help but take a deep inhale through my nose. He was like a drug that I couldn't get enough of. I felt light-headed and drunk on his scent.

I couldn't help the soft moan that escaped my lips. His hand twitched slightly against my scalp and his fur tightened around me. I felt his heartbeat beat irregularly, like it skipped a beat. A gasp escaped me as it surprised me; the only other time I had felt his heartbeat was when he had been about to kiss me. But back then it had been regular. Was I affecting him?

I knew that he was affecting me. My heart beat fast and hard in my chest and I could feel butterflies flutter in my stomach. This was simply dangerous for me; me being so close to him. I would never be able to sleep if I stayed this close to him.

"I can't sleep like this," I whispered against his neck.

He removed his hand from my head, and I felt the pressure of the fur lessen. I took this as an opportunity to push myself up so that I could look at his face. Using my right arm as cover for my breasts, I used my left to hold myself upwards. My green eyes immediately sought his golden ones out. And they simply stole my breath away. They were gleaming so beautifully, yet I couldn't decipher the emotion hidden in his gleam. I blushed at the intense stare of his. It was like he was looking right into my soul and saw how he affected me.

His hand sought up to my left naked shoulder, with his claws ghosting against my fair skin. Goosebumps sprouted all over my body with his shimmery touch of his claws as they followed my shoulder's contour up to my neck. When his claws began to dance lightly up and down my neck, right above my pulse, I had to bite down hard unto my lower lip. To keep in the moan that wanted to escape. My eyes closed and my whole body shook with the pleasurable shivers that wrecked my body with his touch. My left hand clenched possessively around his silky kimono while he continued his intimate assault of his claws on my neck.

"You're shivering," he stated emotionlessly in a low and deep voice.

His voice sent flames down my body, boiling up my blood with the extreme sensation of his deep voice rolling over me. It was so hard to keep the moan from escaping my lips, so I bit harder into the plumpness of the lower lip. I managed to nick a whole in my lip with my teeth, and I could taste the coppery taste of my blood. His hand quickly moved up to my mouth and with his clawed thumb, he pulled my lower lip free from its harmful prison.

"You're bleeding," he said in a low voice.

He moved his thumb over my plump lower lip and smeared the blood away. The motion felt ticklish and I tried to move away from his thumb. But his remaining fingers held onto my jawline, keeping my face in place for his thumb to continue its ticklish caress.

I was panting. The ticklish caress sent searing flames through my blood stream, all gathering in my lower abdomen. It was a weird sensation and one I haven't felt before. It felt like my body was burning up from the insides, craving for something that I couldn't put words to. I felt my nipples tightening against my right arm that was hiding my bosom from him.

My eyes opened up, just the slightest, and landed on his face. I could see and hear him sniffing the air. Then his eyes captured mine in an intense stare. I gasped breathlessly; I knew the emotion that swirled in his molten golden eyes. But I couldn't put my finger on it completely, I just knew the emotion on instinct.

He broke the eye contact and pulled me down towards his face. Before our noses touched each other's, he pulled my head a bit to the left and leaned his head to his left. I felt his hot breath land on my shoulder when he breathed out through his nose. His hand had moved from my jawline to the back of my head once more, his claws gently digging into my scalp. Then I felt him burrow his nose into the crook of my shoulder, taking in my scent just as I had done earlier with him. My heart skipped a beat when I felt him huff out the breath of air against my clavicle. I was blushing profusely at having him taking in my scent and his body heat that kept rolling over my body in heated waves.

His nose moved upwards against the heated skin of my neck, up towards my ear. He breathed hotly against my ear, his heated breath landing against the shell of my ear.

Then he whispered in a low voice: "You're in heat."

I gasped at his words.

_In heat … as in … I'm aroused …?_

He caught me completely off-guard when he licked my earlobe, with just the tip of his tongue. I couldn't withhold the moan that he forced out of me, which was followed by a sharp intake of air when he nibbled my earlobe. His sharp teeth putting a bit of pressure against the sensitive skin there.

"Sesshōmaru-sama!" I whispered breathlessly when he assaulted my heated neck with feather light kisses.

My heart was beating erratically in my chest. His fur tightened around me, pressing me possessively against his muscular chest, his hand twisting against the back of my head with his claws scratching my scalp in a mildly pressured manner. His kisses became more demanding on my neck and were combined with nibbles and licks. My mind felt hazy as I tried to figure out what was happening here. A thought then popped up in my mind: he wanted me. He wanted to claim my body.

Suddenly I began to panic. The thought of being claimed frightened me and I began to wiggle in his grip, trying to release myself from his hold. He stopped in midmotion, like he was surprised by my sudden reluctance and struggles.

"Let go," I whispered, the fear I felt was clear in my voice.

He didn't move and I was soon overwhelmed with fear. My hands pushed against his chest, trying to get away from him, but when it didn't work, they began to beat against his chiseled chest.

"Let me go!" I said louder; I was more than freaked out.

He loosened his hold on me. His hand in my hair disentangled itself from my dark blond locks. The fur that was wrapped around me slackened its hold of me. Immediately I pushed myself away from him. I managed to create as much space as my arms could produce in between us. My head was twisted to the side, my eyes shut tightly closed. I could feel my whole body shaking, the evidence of the fear that had taken control of me.

Images of _him_ taking me ran full speed in front of my inner eye, and I felt hot and salty tears run down my cheeks. I needed to get away from Sesshōmaru.

I let go of his silky kimono and forcefully jerked backwards to release myself completely from his grasp. He didn't resist my struggles and I got out of his embrace. My arms wrapped protectively around my chest and I quickly jumped up from my kneeled position. Hastily I turned around, my back facing Sesshōmaru, and I chanced to open my eyes. We were in the clearing, and it was still in the middle of the night. Jaken and the dragon yōkai were sleeping near a small fireplace. Then I saw my osode, bra and obi hung over a makeshift drying pole near the fire.

Quickly I ran over to my clothes, snatching them off the pole and hugged them to my chest. Then I ran through some trees as quickly as my feet could carry me. I didn't know how far or how long I ran; I just knew that I needed to make some distance in between me and Sesshōmaru. My blood pumped fiercely in my veins, pumping my terror around my whole system. I couldn't think, other than I needed to get away from him.

Suddenly a branch tripped me, and I fell as long as I was, hard against the forest floor. I was hyperventilating as I tried to get a hold of myself again.

I didn't get up immediately from the forest floor. My eyes were closed while the images of being taken by _him_ slowly left my mind's eye. I kept hugging my clothes close to my chest as I turned to my side and pulled my legs up in front of me. Lying in the foster position, I let myself cry out with pain and fright. The wails I made wrecked my body. It hurt inside me to think about being raped. Over and over again.

_He _had damaged my soul, and I knew that I would forever be broken. Broken by the torture I had persisted over those three years after my father's death. Without me realizing it sooner, I had been broken by the man that had been supposed to take care of me. He whom I was related to by blood. But that man was nothing but a _monster_, who relished in the pain that he afflicted on me.

I felt a presence and opened my eyes hastily. I knew who that presence belonged to. Quickly I pushed myself up into a sitting position and swept my teary eyes over to the person who had arrived. Sesshōmaru stood a few feet away from me, his eyes unreadable while he was watching me. His kimono was still disheveled after me clinging possessively to his clothes not so long ago. I hugged my clothes up against my chest, trying to cover myself up as much as I could in the position I was in. He said nothing, only watched me. Slowly his eyes hardened, until they had become emotionless, as was the normal gleam in his eyes.

"Get dressed," he said coldly and turned around, but stayed rooted on the spot.

At first I didn't move, but then I began to freeze and decided to get up and get dressed. The clothes were a bit clammy, but it was better than being naked. When I had adorned my clothes, Sesshōmaru began to move away from me. I knew that he wanted me to follow after him. And I did.

The tension was thick in between us as we walked in silence back to our little camp.

~oOo~

It hadn't been much better in our little camp…

We had stayed in the small clearing for two days now, and the tension just increased with each passing hour. Sesshōmaru and I didn't speak a word to each other. He had been staring at me intently non-stop these last couple of days, which I ignored to my best attempts.

I distracted myself by taking care of the dragon – I had found out that it was an herbivore, so I didn't fear it at all. But the same couldn't be said about Sesshōmaru. His continuous stare made me feel uneasy. I guessed that he was mad at me for freaking out the way I did. But he had awoken a fear in me that I hadn't known I had. The fear of a man's touch. It wasn't Sesshōmaru's fault, but _his_. Sesshōmaru just happened to awaken it.

It wasn't that I didn't like his touch; I was addicted to his touch. To his scent. And to his warmth. But it freaked me out when I thought of him claiming me – I didn't want to feel _that_ _pain_ again if it was just like when _he_ had claimed me. My soul would break into pieces if I ever experienced something like that again.

But my biggest dilemma with this tension between Sesshōmaru and me was that I missed his warmth and nearness. I felt deprived and on drawback from the lack of his natural body heat and scent.

Dear kami, I was such a miserable creature. How would I ever overcome this when I couldn't even look at Sesshōmaru without being reminded of my fear? How did we even get to this?

As far as I knew, Sesshōmaru hated humans, yet he had no qualms of touching me the way he did. It was like something primal had taken over him, like he couldn't resist those sinful urges. The way he had pressed me up against his chest and kissed my neck felt so amazing and made something in me awaken.

I began to feel hot and bothered with the thought of his soft lips on my skin and I got reminded of his scent. I needed a break. With my mind set on getting some privacy, I got up from the ground and walked away from the clearing. As I passed the foliage that hid the small river from the clearing we camped in, it was like a heavy burden had begun to disappear from my shoulders. It was relieving, but I needed more space. I began to walk, following the stream against its current. With each step I took, I felt lighter and in a better mood.

When I couldn't feel the tension anymore; the tension I and Sesshōmaru had created, I stopped up. I was standing beside a tall tree, which looked like a good tree to climb. With the sudden need for getting up in the air, I began to climb the tree. When I reached the top, I glanced over the treetops as far as my eyes could see. It was a breathtaking view. There were only trees in the vicinity for as far as I could see. I felt happy at the moment, all thoughts, other than the view, were none-existing. I kept standing on the thick branch, keeping my balance by grabbing a hold of the bark that covered the trunk of the tree with my left hand. It was simply amazing to just take in the nature at its best.

I closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air through my nose. It was a lovely and fresh scent the air had. Letting my breath out, I opened my eyes once more and let my eyes sweep above the tree tops.

My thoughts drifted back to the problem between me and Sesshōmaru; what should I do about it?

I leaned up against the trunk of the tree and glanced down at my feet. The only thing I could think of as a solution for the problem, was to act like nothing had happened in between us and keep my distance to him. It would be tough for me, considering how my body reacted to him when he was close enough. But it wasn't fair for either Jaken or the dragon that Sesshōmaru and I had the problem we had.

Yet it wasn't a proper solution for the dilemma. The best solution would be to solve the problem, not to avoid it. But for me to solve it completely, I would have to discuss some boundaries with Sesshōmaru, which probably would lead me to explain some more of my past … like I was defiled and damaged by a _monster_ that was of my own blood.

No. I wasn't ready to open up that wound so soon again. I just had to stay clear of Sesshōmaru as much as possible. No more being held by him and get drunk on his lovely scent.

I sighed as I figured out that I should head back before Sesshōmaru retrieved me. I really didn't need so much drama in my life. Another defeated sigh left my lips when I descended from the tree and headed back to the clearing where the rest of the group was. I could really use some advice from Kagome at this point, she ought to have a better solution than I had come up with.

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**A/N: Now, some of may be wondering about why I'm not using A-Un's name; that's because Rin is the one who give A-Un its name, so as of yet A-Un is just a nameless dragon (sadly – A-Un is adorable).**

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter; I was really pumped with author's creative energy when I wrote this one. I want to hear your thoughts. Also, what are your thoughts of Aiko's torturer? Have you guessed who he is? Do you hate him? I know that I hate him and every man who's like him. Nobody should be experiencing such torment and abuse.**

**Enough darkness for now, let's enjoy the good things in life like eating chocolate cake and reading a good story. So. stay tuned for next Sunday, which will be epic story-wise. I can't wait to upload the next chapter to you guys, but to ensure that I don't burn out and end up with not having any chapters ready for you guys, we all have to await those lovely Sundays. Peace to you guys. :D**


	14. Chapter 14 - A Piece of the Puzzle

**A/N: Heeellooo~ my lovely readers, how's your week been? I've had an amazing weekend with friends, so I feel completely satisfied and happy to see those old faces again (figuratively speaking). First off, a big thanks to Kana368, Choking On A Dream, Selene088, shiorinatsu, and Kiyra'n'Kadaj for joining the fave-fam. Also, a big thanks to those who have added my story to their Alert-list, and to all of you amazing people for reading my story. Thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**Also, a big thank you to Kagz419 and New World Wonder for leaving a review, and a little response to your lovely words:**

**Kagz419: I hope that the suspense is a good one, and to give you a hint to your wish; you will be surprised with this chapter.**

**New World Wonder: Thank you for your appraising words, and your waiting time for this week is finally over.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**So, without further ado, here's the newest chapter. Enjoy it!**

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**Chapter 14 – A Piece of the Puzzle**

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When I reached the clearing once more, the tension I had expected to be there wasn't there. I glanced around and spotted Jaken and the dragon, but Sesshōmaru wasn't there. That puzzled me. If Sesshōmaru had gone after me, he would have found me before I had arrived at the clearing.

"Jaken-san?" I asked while I shifted my gaze back to him, seeing him sitting near the fireplace.

Jaken glanced up at me and immediately scowled at me: "There you are, you stupid girl!"

He got up and ran over to me, waving the Nintōjō threateningly at me, while he squawked in his shrilly voice: "What have you done this time to make the great Sesshōmaru-sama be in such a foul mood?!"

I scowled at him, feeling annoyed with his verbal attack: "Why the hell do you ask me about Sesshōmaru's bad mood?! If someone knows the answer to that, it's the yōkai himself!"

I placed my hands upon my hips and glared at the little green imp, feeling pissed by his accusations, though I knew that it was my fault that Sesshōmaru was in a foul mood.

Jaken shook the Nintōjō at me in a dismayed manner: "Foolish mortal, you should beg Sesshōmaru-sama for his forgiveness!"

He scowled fiercely at me as he folded his arms in front of his chest, holding the Nintōjō in his folded arms. I sighed exasperatedly.

"I'm not going to grovel in front of Sesshōmaru … you must be out of your mind!"

Silence stretched out between us while we scowled at each other. We kept the scowl up for a few minutes, until I sighed defeatedly – I didn't need a problem with Jaken at the same time as I still had an unsolved one with Sesshōmaru.

"Do you know where he is?" I sighed tiredly and rubbed the bridge of my nose in a beaten manner.

Jaken smiled satisfactory by my question; he probably thought that I was asking, so that I could _grovel_ apologetically in front of his master – fat chance for that; I had nothing to apologize for.

"The Lord went after you … I _think_ he did …"

Great, Jaken didn't know where Sesshōmaru had gone off to … again. I sighed breathlessly at Jaken's lack of knowledge.

"Alright," I said and turned around, ready to leave the clearing.

"Where are you going?!" Jaken screeched at me.

"Where do you think?" I asked him from over my shoulder while I walked away from him and through the foliage that led to the small river.

"Get back here you filthy girl!" I heard him squeak at me, but I ignored him and chose to walk back to where I had gone off to earlier.

I knew that it was probably a bad idea to go after Sesshōmaru, but I didn't really have anything better to do, other than stay with Jaken back at the clearing. And I didn't feel up for that.

I followed the stream against its currents once again. Then I thought that Sesshōmaru maybe had flown off to somewhere in order to clear up his own mind with his own dilemmas. I knew that I was one of his dilemmas. Maybe I shouldn't go search him out?

Too late now; I was not going back to the clearing without him.

~oOo~

The forest began to darken as I continued to follow the stream. Great, I had been walking for hours now and hadn't found him. I had even passed the tree I had climbed earlier. And that was a couple of hours ago. I really shouldn't have gone after him; I should have waited in the clearing like a good and obedient woman. But I wasn't really the obedient type of woman. This was going to bite me in the ass.

He must've found out by now that I was gone from the camp, and probably thought that I had tried to escape. But then again, I had left my sack behind. At least I had been smart enough to take my ōdachi with me. I stopped up for a few seconds to glance down at my weapon, which rested in the back of my obi – this was probably the smartest thing about this whole trip.

I continued onwards, and the sky changed from a warm orange to a mix of pink and purple, darkening the forest I was walking in.

My stomach began to rumble with the need for nutrition. Maybe I should go look for something to eat?

But I was kind of reluctant to leave the river in order to find myself something to eat. It would be just my luck if I got lost in the forest. My stomach groaned when I prepared myself to skip dinner, yet my stomach was protesting over the prospect of not getting any food. I sighed at myself. My stomach seemed to rule over my actions. I steered away from the river in order to find something eatable that I wouldn't need to cook. So basically, berries and fruit. The forest became darker and darker with each passing minute, making it harder for me to search for eatable berries and fruit. I didn't want to take any chances with the mushrooms, in case of accidentally poisoning or killing myself.

It took a while, but I finally managed to find some wild berries to eat. I squatted in front of the bush and began to munch the berries as I had plucked them off of the bush, though I was mindful of the thorns that the bush exhibited.

When I had eaten, the sun had set completely, leaving the forest in darkness. I wouldn't be able to find the river again, not while it was this dark. So, I decided to rest for the remainder of the night. Glancing around, I figured it would be better to sleep above ground as I would least likely be attacked in a tree than on the ground. I had to take precautions now that I didn't have the safety of numbers or Sesshōmaru.

I climbed the nearest tree, which had a solid branch to sleep on. It was too bad that I didn't bring my sack with me; I could have used the rope in it to secure myself to the tree. In case that I would move too much in my sleep. But there was really no point in reminiscing over things I didn't get with me. I got myself as comfortable as I could on the branch, then pulled Ōginsairensā up in front of me, hugging the sheathed blade close to my chest. Then I waited for sleep to grab a hold of me, so that I could continue onwards tomorrow.

I wondered why Sesshōmaru hadn't found me yet. Was he, perchance, still annoyed, and mad at me?

I couldn't know unless I spoke with him, which wasn't possible until he found me. It would surely end up with him finding me and not the other way around.

I closed my eyes and tried to force myself to sleep, but it was simply too difficult. I couldn't lie perfectly down on the branch, and it was beginning to feel quite cold. How I missed Sesshōmaru's body heat. Come to think of it, in all the time I had been traveling with Sesshōmaru, I hadn't slept nearly as good as when I had rested upon his chest a few days ago. I sighed with yearning for his warmth. Why did I never think things through?

If I had thought it through, I wouldn't have left the clearing. And now I was paying the price by lying uncomfortably up in a tree and freezing myself half to death. It couldn't possibly be any worse than it already was. I chuckled to myself; what a great way to try and jinx myself.

Suddenly I heard the sound of rustling leaves from above me. I opened my eyes and prepared myself for a possible attack.

_So much for getting up here to avoid being attacked!_ I thought alarmed while I wrapped my right hand around the tsuka of my blade.

The rustling stopped and silence grew thick while I waited for an attack. I couldn't let my guard down, knowing that if I did that, I would get myself killed – I could feel the presence of a yōkai. The seconds ticked by slowly, but nothing happened. But I knew that it was only waiting for me to drop my guard. And no way in hell would I do that. Maybe I should make a move?

It was probably a bad idea, but I shuffled myself down the branch and faced the crown of the tree. Slowly I began to unsheathe Ōginsairensā and stealthily stuffed the saya back into my obi.

"_**Y'think that y'can defend y'self, lil' filly?!**_" a deep voice said from in between the leaves.

Then it revealed itself, slowly crawling its way down by using the tree trunk as its walking platform. When it landed on the branch, it revealed itself to be a spider yōkai. Of course, it just had to be a freaking bug. It was almost twice as big as I was, and looked like one of those colorful, yellowy, deadly spiders, just many times its normal size and with red glowing eyes. Why did it have to be a bug?!

"_**Be obedient lil' filly and lie down, so I can eatcha easier!**_" it clicked its beaks in a menacing manner, trying to scare me.

But I wasn't just going to lie down and do as it said. Even though the spider freaked me out, I could only count on myself to defeat it.

I chuffed at it: "Tch, you think I'm just gonna do as you say? Fat chance, you ugly insect!"

It was clearly not satisfied by my statement; it hissed and clicked its beaks at me. Then it attacked. It spew web out of its mouth. I could feel the aura in the web and knew that I mustn't touch it. I dodged the web by ducking under the flying web-attack. The creature spew another web-attack after me, and I dodged by jumping over it. I landed once more on the branch, but I could hear the branch groan under the pressure of my gravity-added weight, threatening to break.

The yōkai kept itself close to the trunk of the tree. It hissed at me as it spew another web-attack after me, quickly followed by two more shots of web.

The only way for me to avoid it would be to get off of the branch. The ground was approximately ten feet away from the branch, and it seemed to be my only option. I jumped off the branch, narrowly avoiding the nearest web-attack. It screeched in annoyance when its attacks missed me.

I landed hard on the ground, but quickly turned around to face the yōkai.

"_**Y'think y're smart, lil' filly?!**_" it screeched at me and spew web after me once more.

I dodged the attack again, but I quickly found out how bad my position was. I wouldn't be able to attack it from down here, and it would just keep on spewing web-attacks after me. The only options I had was to tire myself out by continue dodging the attacks or run away from it and figure something out on the way. I chose the latter.

I quickly turned around and headed in the opposite direction of where it was. I could hear it screeched in anger at my attempt to run away from it. Then I heard a hard bumping noise and knew that it had jumped down from the tree in order to pursue me. My feet moved as fast as they could, and I narrowly avoided the trees on my path.

_Okay, Aiko, figure something out!_ I mentally yelled at myself with slight panic.

I'd gotten it down to my level, so that was an thumbs-up for me. But if I turned around now to attack it, it would simply spew its webs at me. I needed to find its weak spot.

It screeched again at me, and I could feel that it was gaining up on me. I couldn't outrun it. Maybe I could hinder it by running in between some trees that only just let me get past. It was bigger than me, so that might work.

I spotted a pair of trees, which were wide enough for me to run in between, yet too narrow for the spider yōkai. Time to test my thesis.

I ran in between the trees and continued to run onwards. But when I heard the trees splinter forcefully, I knew that my plan hadn't worked. Apparently its body was tough enough to just boulder through the trees.

_Okay, I need a new plan._

I barely registered that it had spewed one of its web-attacks after me. If it wasn't for my ability to sense yōkai auras, I would be hit right in the middle of my back by the web. I felt the presence of the web-attack and tried to dodge it. But I had reacted to the attack too late. The web cut right through my osode and grazed the skin of my upper right arm. The newly-made wound began to burn with a searing pain, and I could feel my blood running from the wound and down my arm, making my osode stick to my bloodied skin. That was then I registered that the web from the spider was acidic. My flesh burned from where the web had grazed it. I hissed out in pain, but I kept running.

I had no idea of where I was running; my focus was entirely on running away from it and dodging its acidic web-attacks. Where was Sesshōmaru when I needed him?

_Balls!_ I then thought and stopped up.

I had managed to corner myself by running to a cliff, with at least fifty-something feet down to a narrow river. I turned around hastily and saw the spider yōkai approach me slowly when it emerged from in between the bushes.

"_**Stupid filly. Nowhere t'run t'now!**_"

Damnit. I had only one option left then.

I held my ōdachi up in front of me, but I felt completely drained. The wound from its web-attack kept feeling like it was on fire and was throbbing consistently. I really needed a miracle if I was going to survive this.

Suddenly, something in me seemed to awake. I felt a surge of energy, and then I knew that I could easily defeat the spider yōkai. I felt an unfamiliar aura arise from within me, and I was, somehow, unable to discern what it was. Then I felt myself smirk arrogantly at the spider yōkai and righted my position so that I held Ōginsairensā in my right hand alone. I held the blade with the tip pointing downward and the sharp side facing away from the giant spider.

"_**Oh, I see one way … Right … through … you!**_" _I_ said cockily, but my voice vibrated with my newfound aura and power, seeming otherworldly.

It screeched annoyedly at me and spew its acidic web at me. I saw it coming towards me, but it was like it was moving in slow-motion. Just before it was going to hit me, right in the chest, I raised my sword and cut right through it. That was then I saw that Ōginsairensā was shining in a brilliant silvery-white color, like it was reacting to my aura. I didn't have any knowledge of this; neither about my mysterious aura nor about my sword being able to shine. Come to think of it, I wasn't really the one facing the spider yōkai – I felt like I was sitting on the front row in a cinema, watching a movie in first person view. I didn't have any control of what I did. It was like someone was controlling my body.

I could see the spider was shocked about the sudden change of its game. The hunted had become the hunter.

"_**Now, little spider … though Aiko here fears insects …**_" _I_ said, though it wasn't really me who was speaking, "_**I'm the one who awakes the fear in my preys!**_"

I felt my lips pull up into a confident smile, and my hand moved on its own accord. Ōginsairensā vibrated in my hands and I could see from the corner of my eyes that silvery lightning was enveloping the silver-glowing blade. What was happening?!

Then I charged it and I could feel my power surge to a new level. Before I collided with the spider yōkai – who could only move its eyes as it saw me coming at it – I jumped up in the air and swung my ōdachi down at it. Ōginsairensā lit up like a Christmas tree when I struck the yōkai. The silver lightning tore through the yōkai, roasting it with the silver lightning.

It was almost like Tessaiga when Sesshōmaru had used it against those yōkai from the mountain, except that the power-attack _I_ had just made was at a smaller scale – only big enough to kill one target.

The yōkai screeched with the pain I afflicted it, but soon the screeching stopped. I had killed the spider yōkai.

The silver lightning that had surrounded my blade disappeared, but the blade was still glowing with its silvery light. I stared coldly at the electrocuted spider and felt myself get bored.

"_Pathetic!_" _I_ said in a voice that was not my own.

Suddenly I felt a familiar presence approach my location with great speed, and I turned around to face the newcomer. It was none other than Sesshōmaru. His golden eyes landed on my face, his gaze cold and calculating. _I_ gave my undivided attention to Sesshōmaru.

"_Ahh~, the great Sesshōmaru-sama,_" _I_ said in that otherworldly voice of _mine_.

I didn't have any control of what _I_ was saying to him: "_Aren't you a bit too late? I had to step in to save dear Aiko's hide … Though …_"

My left hand shifted over to the wound on my right upper arm. _I_ tore the ruined sleeve away and showed him the bleeding and acidic-burning flesh.

"_She managed to get harmed on her own accord!_" _I_ said in a displeased manner.

This was getting annoying really quickly; I had no control over my actions, and I wanted it really bad. Who knew what this other me would do to Sesshōmaru?

My body moved on its own accord, and _I_ walked over to Sesshōmaru. He didn't move, only his eyes that followed the movements of my approaching form. What was he thinking?

_I_ stopped up right in front of him and placed my left hand on his chest. To my surprise, my hand was sporting claws rather than nails at the end of my fingers … when did that happen?

Sesshōmaru didn't move my clawed hand away. _I_ glanced up at his face and saw his eyes studying my face like he was fascinated by it. I couldn't help but wonder if my face had somehow changed, like my nails and voice had. Then _I_ sniffed the air and immediately got pleasingly assaulted by Sesshōmaru's scent; the scent of nature after a rainy day with a hint of cinnamon.

"_You know, Aiko is completely addicted to your scent … no wonder. It is quite pleasing._"

What the hell was _I_ telling him?

If I had any control of my body, I would definitely be blushing at the statement _I_ had just made. Heck, I felt that I was blushing in my own mind. My fingers on his chest were drawing circles on his kimono, right above his armor, which I now registered had finally been repaired completely.

_I_ was staring into his golden eyes all the while _I _had been speaking to him with this other voice I possessed. His eyes shone with allure and interest. Normally I couldn't read his eyes other than anger, annoyance, or his usual coldness, so it was a wonder that I could interpret his emotion as of now.

"_Oh … It seems that I must make this quick! Aiko is soon able to take control over her body. I'll give you a fair warning, Mr. Handsome …_"

_Did I just call Sesshōmaru for _'Mr. Handsome'_?!_

"… _Aiko was not only tortured by that despicable __**monster**__ of a man that was her guardian …_"

There was a short pause in _my_ speech, but I was cringing inwardly at what I felt was going to be an awful confession. Who gave _me_ the right to speak of those matters?

"… _I know that you are interested in _her_, mostly because of _me_ … but you must show her how it really is between a man and a woman. Not the image she has from that __**man**__ who's defiled her body!_"

Dear kami, what the hell was _I_ doing?

_I_ was literally selling myself to him like a piece of meat! Not only that; _I_ had just told him that _he_ had _'defiled'_ my body! Kami … just strike me down already!

"_I'm afraid that time's up for me … be gentle to dear Aiko, or you'll be facing _me_ sooner than you want!_"

And now _I_ had threatened him as well. This had to end! I couldn't bear the thought of trying to clear out the mess _I_ had made. I needed to get control over my body!

Suddenly, I felt the mysterious aura within me diminish, to then disappear completely. I closed my eyes when the aura disappeared. My body felt weak and my knees soon gave out on me. I felt Sesshōmaru's arm wrap around my back to steady me. My left hand clenched around the silky fabric of his kimono in a possessive manner, while steadying myself. Slowly I opened my eyes and shifted my gaze up to his golden eyes. Once again, I couldn't decipher the emotions that swirled in his beautiful eyes. I felt my cheeks heat up with embarrassment of this whole situation. Dear kami, what had happened exactly?

I wanted to tell him that I didn't have any control of this whole séance that had just occurred, but I couldn't form any words on my tongue.

Sesshōmaru broke the silence that had filled the space in between us: "Sheathe your sword."

I glanced down at Ōginsairensā and saw that it wasn't glowing anymore. What a weird occurrence. I did as Sesshōmaru told me to do and sheathed it. Just as I had done so, Sesshōmaru tossed me over his right shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I squealed in surprise of being flung over his shoulder, but quickly shut up when my face landed in his soft fur and his scent embraced my senses. I hugged the fur closer to my chest, using the fur like my personal safety net. His hand pushed me higher up on his shoulder until my ass was basically strutting right up in the air. He grabbed a hold of my legs with his right hand, which he strategically placed on my right upper thigh. His claws gently dug into my leggings, just an inch from my right buttock.  
I blushed profusely with how close his hand was on my rear and couldn't help but wiggle under his touch. He squeezed my thigh, his claws digging into my clothed flesh in a warning. I squeaked up with his touch.

"Why do you have to do _that_?!" I asked him embarrassedly.

He didn't answer me and took us to the sky almost immediately after he had secured me in his grip. But no less than a second went by until he squeezed my thigh once again, though he didn't dig his claws into me.

I blushed profusely and knew that he did _that_ squeeze because he could. My heart was hammering in my chest at the feeling of his warm and strong hand around my thigh. His clawed fingers then snaked their way up my thigh, until his claws reached the fold of my right buttock. He ghosted his claws against the extremely sensitive skin. I could feel the caress like he was touching my skin directly, even though that I wore a pair of thick leggings. I wiggled in his hold and tried to avert his ticklish claws.

"Don't do that!" I exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

"Hn?" he said in askance, like he didn't know what the problem was.

Then he tickled the sensitive skin again with his claws, "You mean this?" he asked like nothing was wrong.

"EEP!" I squeaked, feeling flustered over my predicament.

"Please stop doing _that_!" I said pointedly in a high-pitched voice, immediately after my squeak.

I had a feeling that he was enjoying himself immensely.

"Why?" he then asked while he continued to run his claws against the fold of my buttock, broken off by a few squeezes on my thigh when he wanted to.

It felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest with how fast and hard it was beating. He just had the worst timing; I felt dreary and completely exhausted. If he would just stop groping my leg, then I could fall asleep.

Before I could tell him _why_ he should stop, he asked emotionlessly: "Weren't you the one who told me to claim you?"

_Dear kami!_

"No, that wasn't _me_!" I exclaimed frustratedly, then quickly added, "I didn't have _any_ control of that whole conversation … ehm, monologue…?"

It was the other _me_ who had spoken _to_ Sesshōmaru because he hadn't said one word while _I_ had been controlling my body.

"Hn," he said, but clearly didn't get the point I tried to make – he didn't stop squeeze my thigh or caress my buttock fold with his claws.

I began struggle in his hold, trying to make him stop touching me in such a perverted way. He squeezed my thigh in a warning, his claws digging slightly into my legging-cladded buttock fold. But I kept struggling in his hold, showing him that I had had enough.

"Lie still, woman," he said coldly, his tone one of warning.

"I won't stop until you stop _touching_ me _that_ way!" I exclaimed passionately.

It clearly annoyed him, because he tightened his hold on my thigh and dug his claws further into my buttock fold. This resulted in him piercing the thick black fabric of my leggings. I gasped at the sound, then froze at the feeling of his claws in direct contact with my flesh. If he moved his fingers upwards with less than an inch, he would be touching my ass. My heart was galloping in my chest and I clung desperately to his fluffy fur. Would he do it?

To my great relief, he retracted his claws from the newly-made holes in my leggings and moved his hand down, so that it was lying near the back of my knees instead. I sighed out with relief at the more tolerable placement of his hand. Then I began to slowly doze off with my nose burrowed into his lovely scented fur.

But it wasn't long after I was relaxing in his hold that he descended. We landed in a clearing and he placed me down on the ground, right in front of him. My legs felt wobbly, so I rested both of my hands on his chest in order to regain my balance. His hand rested against my lower back, supporting my weakened and tired body. Once I felt secure enough, I moved my hands away from his chest and took a step backward, creating some space in between us. He let me move that backward step but kept his hand on my lower back.

I drowsily glanced over my shoulder to find out where we were exactly. I spotted Jaken and the dragon yōkai sleeping near a small fire, which had almost burnt out. I guessed that we were back at the clearing we had rested at for the last few days.

Birds began to chirp in merry spirits, indicating that dawn was upon us. Another night had went by without me getting any sleep. How tiresome.

Sesshōmaru let go of my lower back and moved away from me. He walked over to a tree and stopped up in front of it. Then with a swift hand, he removed his armor and placed it up against the trunk. I watched him, not knowing what else to do – I should lie down and get some sleep before I _fell_ asleep.

He turned around, until his right side was turned towards me. I couldn't help but love the view in front of me. He was simply so majestic and beautiful to look at. His golden eyes sought mine out and held my gaze. They were unreadable once more.

The sun began to rise, and the sky turned a glowing orange, bathing the clearing in the beautiful light. The only sound in the clearing was that of birds singing merrily with the rising sun.

He turned his eyes away from me and sat down on the ground and leaned up against the trunk, his armor within reach.

Then he shifted his gaze back up at me: "Come."

His voice was low and deep, but easily carried over to me, due to the near silence in the clearing we were in. I didn't think when I let my feet guide me over to him. Once I reached him, I stopped up and glanced down at him. He reached his hand out after mine and wrapped his strong fingers around my wrist, then he gently tugged me down. I let myself kneel in front of him, too tired to resist him. It felt like I was already halfway to dreamland.

His hand let go of my wrist and wrapped around my lower back. Then he pulled me into his chest, and I let him do so, feeling too exhausted to protest to his silent demands. My hands landed on his muscled chest and my head rested against his right shoulder with my nose almost touching the crook of his neck. His fur soon wrapped itself around me, covering me like the softest blanket to ever exist. My eyelids felt heavy while I snuggled into him, enjoying the warmth he radiated. He then rested his hand on my head, tangling his clawed fingers into my dark blond hair, with his claws lightly putting pressure on my scalp.

"Sleep," he said in a low voice.

His voice was soothing, and I complied to his order. I let my heavy eyelids fall shut and let his scent and warmth envelope me, to then be embraced by much needed sleep.

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**A/N: Were you surprised with what happened to Aiko? I can easily tell you that it's not the end of the development of Aiko as a character; there is many mysteries lying in her past. But I must ask you to be patient, since no good story is told in less than a chapter. Everything good comes to those who awaits it with an open heart.**

**Nothing much else to tell you this time, other than I hoped this chapter is to your liking and that you'll continue to read onwards when new chapters arrive. I really love you guys and am ever grateful for you taking your time to read this story of mine. Have a great week, and I'll be back next Sunday with the newest installment.**


	15. Chapter 15 - Unexpected

**A/N: Sunday is upon us all, and it is time for a new chapter. I hope you all have had a great week and that you all have anticipated this chapter. But first of all, I like to thank you all for sticking with this story and spending your time on it. Yet that is not my only thanks: Kosongbird, Sushi-chan99, whatever97, and sesshomarusmate54; thank you for favoriting my story and welcome to the fave-fam. Also, a big thanks to those of you that have my story on their Alert-list.**

**And lastly, a big thanks to Alyce DreamEater, Kagz419, and Yakitori-Chan for leaving a review. Your words of praise are extremely wonderful to read and warms my heart immensely.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: This chapter is steamy and may leave you a bit hot and bothered. You have been warned.**

**Enough of my small chit-chat-bits and gratitude… Onwards with the show:**

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**Chapter 15 – Unexpected**

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The gentle swaying from side to side was what awoke me. I still felt completely exhausted in my body, but my mind was stirred to life. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw that I was lying on the dragon yōkai's back. Had I been sleeping upon its back?

The dragon yōkai stopped up and made a gentle growl, both heads glancing over its shoulders to look at me.

"Morning," I mumbled to the dragon yōkai.

Then I heard the most unpleasant squawk from a certain imp who was on the right side of the dragon – and me: "Morning?! It's in the middle of the afternoon, you foolish mortal!"

I tried to growl at Jaken in annoyance, but I didn't have the energy to do so. My body felt completely drained of energy, and each time I tried to move, agony shot through my whole being. Why did my body hurt the way it did?

"Whatever," I mumbled indifferently; for me, it was morning because I had just woken up – I didn't care at that moment how high or low the sun was on the sky.

It was agitating how exhausting it was to even speak. Though I felt fresh enough mind-wise, my body ached and protested if I tried to move. What a pain in the butt …

"Now that you're awake, get off and walk on your own feet!" Jaken then squeaked at me in his shrilly voice.

I sighed; at least my body didn't hurt as I did so: "I can't," I mumbled exhaustedly as my reply.

Dear kami, it was really strenuous to speak. Even though I only mumbled, it still hurt to form the words. What had happened to make me so fatigued?

"What nonsense are you sprouting, you imprudent human?" Jaken squawked at me questioningly.

Jaken's question forced me back to the conversation at hand and away from my thinking process of how I had drained my body of all its energy.

"I can't move."

Silence spread over us for a whole minute before Jaken guffawed at my statement, but then he became angered by it: "You've been sleeping for five days! You're just being lazy, 'tis all!"

_Five days?!_ I thought curiously.

What would make me sleep for five days and wake up unable to move my body?

When I didn't make a motion to move, Jaken began to poke my head with the end of Nintōjō. _Thank you Jaken, for giving me a headache; it's not like my whole body is protesting and aching already._

"Stop that," I mumbled tiredly.

If I could, I would have grabbed that stupid staff and used it like a golf club against his stupid head. Seriously, this was pure torture!

Then I remembered what happened before I woke up here: _I_ had fought against that bothersome spider yōkai, and Sesshōmaru had picked me up afterwards, flying us off to the clearing. Under the flight, I had felt exhausted, but Sesshōmaru's inappropriate caresses against my thigh had kept me from falling asleep on Sesshōmaru's fluffy shoulder. Now that I thought about it, I kind of liked it, but it was not what I had expected.

When we had reached the clearing, my memories seemed to be blurred, but I remembered that I had fallen asleep upon Sesshōmaru's chest, too exhausted to object against his demands. I still wanted to sleep; mostly because of my body aching the way it did. Was my fatigue the result of the battle _I _had had against the spider yōkai?

Jaken kept pestering me with his stupid staff, the repeated thudding sound ringing in my skull. I became more and more annoyed and angry with each jab he made with the Nintōjō; I couldn't think clearly with his insistent jabbing of that stupid staff. If my body didn't hurt as much as it did, I would be throttling that stupid toad. Right there and then!

I heard the shuffling of fabric when someone was approaching us. Even though I couldn't see who it was, I recognized the approaching aura as being Sesshōmaru's, though he seemed to be subduing his aura. Why would he be subduing it?

_Weird._

He stopped up and I could feel his eyes raking over my body. I tried to turn my head towards him, but all I managed to do was to make my neck throb with pain and make sweat form on my brows. I really couldn't do a thing with the state I was in.

I felt his eyes swift away from me, but he stayed in place. I could only guess that he was staring at Jaken with his cold golden eyes.

"Jaken," Sesshōmaru said in his usual emotionless voice.

Jaken stopped poking his staff at my head – _what a relief._

Then Sesshōmaru surprised me with his next words: "Let her be."

Jaken squawked up in disbelief of his Lord's words: "But Sesshōmaru-sama, 'tis nothing but laziness this stupid girl is exhibiting. She should be …"

But Jaken stopped midsentence. I guessed that Sesshōmaru had silenced the imp with one of his _in_famous icy glares.

"Her yōki is still recovering," Sesshōmaru then stated emotionlessly.

What was he talking about?

"Yōki?" I mumbled in askance.

Jaken squawked, shock lacing his shrilly voiced words: "She can't have a _yōki_! She is only a _human_!"

His statement confused me rather than give me an answer to my question. I closed my eyes and sighed at not getting a straight answer.

"What is this _yōki_?" I asked a little louder, though it was strenuous for me to speak louder than a mumble.

"Yōkai aura," Sesshōmaru stated coldly and I felt his eyes shift back to me.

This puzzled me a bit. _Yōkai aura?_

"As in the presence I feel from you and this dragon?" I mumbled questioningly, then added thoughtfully: "Is it also _yōki_ I feel from InuYasha?"

At the mention of the hanyō's name, Sesshōmaru seemed to tense up with annoyance, his yōki flaring up for a second. I guessed he didn't like hearing any talk about his _half_-brother.

Silence fell heavily around us, and a tension seemed to grow amidst the silence. Had I angered him?

When the silence only continued, I thought that I wouldn't get an answer from him. I would really have liked to know if it was the same _aura_ we were talking about, so that I didn't mistaken it in the future.

"Yes," Sesshōmaru then said, finally disrupting the silence and tension that had filled the air around us.

And he had answered my question, which was a nice surprise. Usually I had to guess everything and only assume an answer to my questions. But his answer only gave me more to puzzle on. What did it mean that I had a depleted yōki? Was I not _human_?

"What does it mean?" I mumbled my question, feeling confused over this newfound dilemma.

This time, he didn't answer me. Instead he walked away, and we soon continued onwards to wherever we were headed. All I could do was lie down on the dragon's back and contemplate the new information that I had acquired. If I had this yōkai aura, or _yōki_ as Sesshōmaru had called it, did that mean that I was a yōkai … or a hanyō? How could I possibly have a yōki? I was human … wasn't I?

My head began to throb with excessive amount of pain, caused by both Jaken's jabbing of the Nintōjō and my sudden enigma. If I was a yōkai/hanyō, did that mean my parents were not my parents?

I was pretty sure that both of them had been human – at least eighty-five or ninety percent sure of it.

Did others know of this _yōki_ of mine … other than Sesshōmaru?

I then remembered Naraku's conversation with me. He had said something about me possessing something only a yōkai possessed. Was he talking about the same thing as Sesshōmaru? About me having a yōki?

I had a feeling that Naraku knew about this enigma. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said those things.

He had also mentioned something about the origin of my ōdachi. Thinking back to the fight against the spider yōkai, Ōginsairensā had glowed silver, like it had reacted to my _yōki_. What was the connection between my yōki and my ōdachi?

I sighed heavily and kept my eyes closed for a few seconds. I could really have used some answers to this. Maybe there was someone other than Sesshōmaru or Naraku that knew about my enigma…

I would have to keep my eyes and ears open for any information about my mysterious yōki and my ōdachi.

For now, I tried to let the thought go; I didn't want to frustrate me more than I already was due to this sudden development. I would only get a worse headache than I already had.

But my mind strayed quickly back to my personal enigma. Did my yōki/yōkai/hanyō-thing have something to do with the blackouts I've had?

I had a feeling that it did, though I couldn't be sure yet if those two things were connected. Sesshōmaru would surely know what happened at his father's tomb when I had my semi-blackout, but I was more than certain of that he would never tell me what had happened. Then I thought that InuYasha would probably know it too – he was there too, still conscious I believed.

Next time I got the opportunity, I would have to ask him. Maybe it would add some helpful pieces to my puzzle.

Speaking of InuYasha, I wondered when I would be able to see Kagome again. I missed her and I was curious about their new additions to the team. Who was the hōshi and that little yōkai kid?

I remembered InuYasha calling the monk Miroku, so I guessed that was the monk's name. But I had no idea about that little yōkai, other than the yōki I had felt from the kid.

I needed a plan to get away from Sesshōmaru, so I could get some answers to my enigma.

Next time we would be facing InuYasha – it really was a _when_ and not an _if_ we would meet them again – I would do everything in my power to stay with the group. At least until I had gotten some answers to my yōki-enigma.

I was almost certain of that Sesshōmaru would eventually get a hold of me again: he was pretty persistent about having me close by. I couldn't help but get the feeling that he thought he owned me. That yōkai was quite possessive.

My thoughts got interrupted by the sudden need to relieve my bladder. Come to think of it, I probably hadn't done anything other than sleeping during these past _five_ days – as Jaken had said had passed by – and likely hadn't eaten anything or relieved my bladder a single time. I needed to get up.

I tried to move my body, but the pain was almost excruciating. This was definitely not the time for my body to protest my movements. I tried to force my body to move, pushing through the pain, but my body was adamant on its protests. Damn that body of mine!

I felt angry at my incapacitated state, and that anger coursed hotly through my veins. My body began to tremble when I used my willpower to overcome my obstacle. Suddenly, I felt that previously unknown aura within me spike up. It felt ominous as it was spurred on by my anger.

The dragon I was lying on stopped up instantly and shuddered under my body. Then I felt multiple set of eyes on me.

My _yōki_ coursed through my bloodstreams to every inch of my body and pushed the pain I felt away. I was able to move my fingers, and shortly after, the rest of my body. Ignoring the eyes that were on me, I got up from my resting spot on the dragon's back. I jumped off of the dragon and headed in through some bushes to do my business.

When I was done, I began to head back, but every step I took felt like I was walking on broken glass. I felt my yōki deplete rapidly, until it disappeared completely, leaving my body totally drained of energy. My body crumbled on the spot, like a puppet losing its strings, and I found myself on the earthy ground, unable to move once again.

"Damnit," I mumbled annoyedly.

Couldn't my body have waited to succumb to the pain until I had reached the dragon and gotten up on its back?

I felt Sesshōmaru's yōki approach before I heard the rustling of bushes.

Great, he had come for me. Just rub the salt into my open wounds; it would be less painful than this embarrassing occurrence. His eyes swept over my incapacitated body, and I was once more unable to meet his gaze, due to my inability to move my body.

"How reckless of you," he said coldly, "to use your yōki was indeed a folly."

I sighed at his degrading words: "Could you spare me the lecture? I needed to pee, so I had to use my body!"

My words were nothing but a breathless mumble.

I heard him walk over to me, then the shuffling of fabric when he, assumedly, squatted in front of me. His clawed fingers grabbed a hold of my chin and forced my head upwards, capturing my eyes with his golden ones. He was clearly annoyed at me for what I had said, his eyes narrowing with irritation.

"Mind that tongue of yours," was all he said in his usual cold tone while he stared into my eyes.

That annoyed me to no end: I would say whatever I liked to say. Besides, he didn't mind his own tongue, demeaning me with his stinging words.

"I mind my tongue, when you mind yours!" I hissed annoyedly.

This was clearly not what he wanted to hear from me. His golden eyes swirled with his simmering anger of me talking back to him. The claws of his slender fingers dug into my chin, almost piercing the delicate skin.

I should've taken heed to his unspoken warning, but I felt that I was having enough of everything that had happened. From me ending up in this era, fighting yōkai of different kinds, getting kidnapped, almost escaping to only be abducted by the same _handsome_ mononoke again. Then added with this whole 'me-having-a-_yōki_'-enigma, and my inappropriate attraction to Sesshōmaru. It was a complete recipe for anger and frustration.

I could feel my yōki swirl deep within me, but I also felt how weak it was. It was almost like it was completely drained and needed time to recuperate. But I didn't try to hamper my anger, which fueled my yōki.

"Don't do anything foolish, woman," Sesshōmaru said warningly, his voice icy cold.

But his words only seemed to madden me more; he still haven't used my name in all this time I had traveled with him. Not once. I began to see red shimmer at the edge of my sight. I was more than furious of my situation.

"How many times do I have to tell you that my name is _Aiko_?!" I growled at him.

My blood ran hot in my veins and I felt a renewed spur of energy run through my body. I pushed myself away from him, catching him off-guard; his hand let go of my chin. Then I jumped up and faced him while he had stood up as well.

"I'm so sick of all of this!" I exclaimed angrily, "You abducted me, then tell me stuff like I have a _yōki_, yet you withhold information from me! It's so _maddening_! Not only that, but you treat me like I'm your property. But I'm nobody's property! I'm my _own_ person! So, stop calling me degrading stuff like human or woman! Use my _freaking_ _name_!"

I was literally screaming at him at the end of my monologue. Angry tears streamed down my heated cheeks and my body was trembling with the fury I had yet to release on him. My hands were clenched into fists with my nails digging painfully into the palms of my hands.

Suddenly, he was right in front of me, his yōki was swirling dangerously around us – it was almost as strong as when I had first encountered his yōki. Back when I had felt it all the way from Kaede's hut.

It was almost frightening how strong his yōki was, but my mind was filled with anger, and I didn't react to his oppressing yōki. Defiantly, I stared into his golden eyes, not showing him any fear. Only my anger.

His hand shot out and grabbed a hold of the back of my head in a vice-like grip. And before I could react to his hand grabbing a hold of me, he yanked me close to his body. What was he doing?

He pressed my head against his fur-coated shoulder and I immediately caught his enticing scent. It worked almost instantly on me, calming me down, making me feel weak at my knees. I weakly tried to push myself away from him with my fisted hands against his armored chest.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, but my voice was soft and breathy.

My heartbeat increased with our close proximity, hammering painfully in my chest. At that moment, I hated how his scent held so much power over me.

I could feel his yōki diminish like he was forcing it back down. His hand rested heavily on the back of my head, making it impossible for me to move away. The only thing I could do was to succumb to his lovely scent and let its calming effect wash over me.

But I didn't want to surrender myself to him. I didn't want to be the submissive type of woman. I was a fighter of body and soul. The scars on my back was my proof of being a fighter, surviving the assaults of that _despicable man_ I shared blood with.

"Let go," I mumbled into his shoulder, wishing to be released from his hold.

He leaned his head down to mine, his breath landing hot on the shell of my right ear.

Then he whispered coldly: "Enough, Aiko."

I gasped with the surprise of hearing my name, and my heart skipped a beat. My body stiffened at the sound of my name on his lips.

_He said my name!_

And the way he said it was making my body yield itself to him. It was horrifying how much power this yōkai had over me.

I closed my eyes and breathed heavily in through my nose, his scent making my mind hazy. The tears of anger had stopped flowing, but I could feel a few drops of the salty water form in the corner of my eyes. I didn't know what to do at that moment. I felt entirely weak and exhausted. My anger had disappeared, leaving my body completely drained and filled with confusion. I simply couldn't find the thin red line in my whole situation, and to add matters to it, the whole _yōki_ of mine made me question who I was. The tears began to stream anew, but instead of being tears of anger, they were tears of despair. I snuggled closer to him and used him as a physical anchor for my rampaging and despairing thoughts. I didn't know who I was anymore.

~oOo~

I must have exhausted myself.

When I came to myself again, it was nighttime, and we were in a small clearing. I could hear soft snoring in the background, but I was more focused on the warm presence underneath me. Once again, I was sleeping on Sesshōmaru's muscled chest. I was resting my head against his chest, with my left ear over his heart, which beat steadily in his chest. It was soothing to listen to the rhythmic beating of his yōkai blood being pumped throughout his body. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I snuggled in closer to his chest. My hands were clenched around his kimono, ruffling up the smooth silky fabric.

That was when I registered his hand. It was draped over my waist and clenched pleasantly around the soft flesh there. The touch sent a tingling sensation down my spine and made my stomach clench up with the unexpected touch. I held my eyes closed and sighed softly. Then I felt his eyes on me, watching me. I was sure that he knew that I was awake, yet he didn't say a word or made any gestures of wanting me to get off of him. Why did I find myself sleeping more often on top of him than near the fire that Jaken always created?

It was quite puzzling.

"Why am I sleeping on you yet again?" I whispered questioningly.

I shuffled in his hold and righted myself up so that I could look him in the eye. His eyes were unreadable while he kept his eyes on mine. He didn't move his hand away from my waist, and I could only guess that it was so that I wouldn't be able to move away from him.

He didn't answer my question, which wasn't unusual. Instead he began to move his fingers up and down against the side of my waist. I didn't know what to make of the sensation his touch made. It tickled a bit and made my body shiver with the pleasant tingling feeling his clawed fingers produced. But it also slightly freaked me out. I didn't know what he was thinking or what he was playing at.

His hand then moved away from my right waist, ghosting over my lower back and over to my left hip. He squeezed the soft flesh my hip sported, on top of my osode. My body trembled with the sensation his touch sent through my body. My heartbeat quickened in my chest and I felt myself panting slightly. What was he doing to me?

I felt weird with his touch and I couldn't think clearly. It scared me to not have control over my body.

His hand continued to travel downwards, his hand ghosted over the back of my upper thigh, caressing it for a few strokes. Then he grabbed a hold of my thigh and pulled at it. My body complied to his gesture and followed his pull. Not a second after he had pulled my leg upwards, he moved his hand to my lower back and pulled me up close against him. It was so sudden that I gasped breathlessly in surprise. My body was molding itself up against his muscled body. I was blushing at our close proximity. If it wasn't for the fact that we were both clothed, I would have been more panicky with our closeness, though I was still nervous with my position.

My heart was beating so quickly in my chest that it almost hurt. I was so unsure of my situation. Of what Sesshōmaru wanted from me.

His hand left my lower back, his claws barely touching me as he moved his hand up my spine, only to rest his hand at the back of my head. He then pulled my head closer to his, until our noses touched, nose tip against nose tip.

I felt like fainting with how fast my heart was beating and how hard it was for me to breathe normally.

We stared into each other's eyes, my green meeting his golden ones. I felt breathless with how his eyes shone, beautifully and enticing, ensnaring me in mystified splendor. My body became rigid and I couldn't seem to relax with how close we were to one another.

"Aiko," he whispered suddenly.

I gasped and closed my eyes. My body trembled with how he spoke my name – it sounded almost sensual and longing. Then I felt him lean closer to me, until his hot breath landed on my lips. Was he going to kiss me?

His lips were almost touching mine now, sending tingling sensations through my lips. They trembled while I was breathing shakily. He was so close, but he didn't claim my lips like I thought he would. He just let his lips hover over mine. What was he waiting for?

I couldn't think clearly. I wanted his lips on mine so badly that it was the only thing I could think of.

Why wasn't he claiming my lips yet? What should I do? Did he want me to initiate the kiss?

Without thinking, I leaned closer to him, eliminating the last half an inch that there was in between our lips. As soon as our lips touched, the tingling sensation in my lips increased and almost seemed to vibrate with the feeling of his lips against mine. They were soft and warm, almost scalding hot. Where our lips touched each other's, it felt like he was scorching my lips. It was breathtaking.

At first it was only what one would describe as a peck, but soon Sesshōmaru put more pressure on my lips, massaging them with his own. I hummed at the sensation; it felt so divine that I couldn't think straight. I wanted more of his lips.

I mimicked the motion of his lips, huffing in light breaths of air from time to time. The kiss grew more fevered with each stroke of our lips that we made. Hot fire was coursing through my blood, all seeming to move to the same destination in my lower abdomen. My hands clenched possessively around the silk of his kimono and I automatically pushed my body flush up against his. A soft huff of breath escaped his lips and I couldn't help the breathless moan that escaped my own lips.

Soon after, I felt his wet tongue lick seductively over my lower plump lip. I gasped at how his tongue made my lower lip burn pleasantly with the gesture. When I gasped, he stuck his tongue in between my lips and immediately met my tongue.

I moaned at the taste of him. He tasted a bit coppery, but that was soon overridden with how hot his tongue felt against mine. His tongue stroke against my own, sensually coaxing my tongue to dance with his. His tongue became more demanding with each stroke he made, and I found it hard to keep up with him. I moaned with the sensation of his tongue against my own. My body was ablaze, and my mind was so foggy that no coherent thought could be created.

At the back of my mind, I registered his fur wrapping possessively around me, then soon after, my vertigo shifted. I felt my back being lain gently upon the cold and dewy grass. A moan left my lips at the contradicting feeling of hot and cold; the cold grass against my back and Sesshōmaru's hot body against my front.

He leaned some of his weight upon me, and it felt wonderful. To feel the weight of him against my smaller frame felt so right. His lips stayed on my lips and his tongue continued to dance against my tongue. I was so caught up in the feeling of him kissing me so passionately that it shook me when I felt him grind his nether region up against mine. I gasped at the sensation of him pushing his clothed pelvis against my own. My nether region seemed to quiver wantonly with the pressure of him.

"Ahh," I moaned breathlessly against his lips, surprised with the feeling of his nether region against my own.

My body respond to the motion of his hips. My legs wrapped around his hips on their own accord, and then I pushed my hips up to meet his thrusts. Even through the clothes we were wearing, I could feel him hardening against me.

My body trembled with the sensation, but in the far corners of my mind, an alarm bell was ringing. But I didn't react to it. Instead I reacted to the breathless gasp Sesshōmaru made. I felt my heart sore at hearing him being affected by me. Because that meant that I wasn't the only one who was affected by our thrust.

His lips left mine all so suddenly that I opened my eyes. They were immediately caught by the intense look of his golden orbs. I seemed to be devoured by his eyes only. My body wiggled a bit with the intensity of his golden eyes. It was like something primal was glowing in them.

My heart skipped a beat as a response to his stare. Then he leaned in again, claiming my lips in a searing kiss. But it was short-lived; he began to move his lips away from mine and shower my jaw with hot kisses. His lips ghosted over my skin, moving from my jaw over to my cheek, then over to my ear. His breath landed hot on my ear. Then he wrapped his lips around my earlobe and suckled on it. His teeth scraped against the sensitive skin of my earlobe, sending a new wave of warmth down my spine.

"Mm," I breathed out through closed lips.

It felt so good. My hands fiddled over his clothed chest, searching for something I couldn't name. I tugged at his kimono and suddenly I felt his naked chest against my fingers. His skin was so smooth that I gasped yet again at feeling his hot and soft skin against my own skin, though it was only my fingers that were touching him. I wanted more. No … I needed more.

"More," I whispered breathlessly, my mind feeling hazy and unfocused.

A low rumble resounded from his throat and he grounded his pelvis harder against mine, pushing me hard against the grassy ground. With a fiery passion, he kissed, nibbled, and licked my throat, searching further and further down the delicate skin of my neck. His weight shifted on top of me, and then I felt his clawed hand move my osode to the side, exposing the fair skin of my shoulder to his greedy lips. He kissed and licked his way down from the crook of my neck, down to my clavicle. Then he nibbled at the sensitive skin there.

His every ministration of his lips and teeth against my skin made me gasp and moan breathlessly. I felt helpless under his touches, not able to think at all other than how wonderful it felt and how he turned my body into a hot mess.

He soon left my clavicle and kissed his way further down my body. His hand stealthily moved my osode to the side, exposing more of my fair skin to his adventuring soft lips. He then kissed the top of my breasts, showering my amble bosom with passionate attention. My hands twitched against his naked chest, unable to find something to hold on.

Without thinking, I dug my nails into his fair skin. This awarded me a hard thrust from his clothed pelvis against my own, and a deep, vibrating growl from deep within his chest. His growl made my lady parts quiver with sudden need and I gasped wantonly. He nibbled passionately against the fleshy mounds on my chest seeking further down, until his lips stopped up I mid-motion. Even though I wondered what had made him stop, I couldn't bring myself to chance a glance at my breasts. Then I heard the sound of fabric getting cut and my breasts seemed to gravitate to the sides and widen my cleavage.

The fabric, which I barely remembered was my bra, slowly got moved to the side and exposed my bosom completely for his hungry mouth. His breath landed hotly on my left nipple, blowing heated puffs of air against the sensitive pink flesh. Then I felt his tongue lick at it, wetting the nipple and making it stand erect at his attention. A wanton moan escaped my lips at the searing heat that shot down from my nipple and directly to my core. I arched my back, thrusting my chest upwards and my nipple directly into his hot mouth. His lips wrapped around the taut nipple and sucked it greedily into his wanting mouth.

"AHH!" I exclaimed passionately.

He rapidly stroke his tongue over my confined nipple, teasing it with his expert tongue and hot lips. My breath quickened to breathless pants while he continued his sensual attack on my taut nipple. Every suck and lick sent searing flames running through my entire body. Then he bit down on the erect nub, which made me take in a sharp breath of air. It wasn't a hard bite he made, yet the bite still stung a bit. But he quickly licked the stinging nipple, soothing the initial bit of pain he had inflicted on my nipple.

His attention then shifted; he licked his way over to my right breast, leaving a light trail of his hot saliva on my skin. Where he had licked, my skin felt ablaze with hot fire. It was almost killing me how hot I felt. His every simple touch left me wanting more of him. I simply couldn't grasp a hold of how my own body felt. My mind was foggy, and I felt like I was losing any sense of sanity – I felt weird with how I was reacting to him.

His hot and soft lips then engulfed my right nipple, imprisoning it in a smoldering prison that it couldn't escape. I gasped at the sensation and bucked my hips up against his. He responded by grinded his hips down and breathlessly groaned into the soft flesh of my nipple. His lips vibrated and his groan turned into a low, rumbling growl.

Something deep inside me tightened up, ready to be snapped in half. The sensation scared me, and I began to stiffen and tremble underneath him. I was frightened of what might happen to me if the tightness released.

He kept on assaulting my nipple while he shifted his weight once more. The pressure of his pelvis grinding against mine disappeared, and I felt bereft of the feeling of him against me. I began to whimper with the missing presence.

But the presence of his pelvis was replaced by his big, warm hand. It engulfed my sex, with the heel of his hand pressing on a certain spot just above my sex. I didn't even know that it existed, but as he put pressure on it and began to rub his hand against it, my body seemed to vibrate with the tingling sensation, and I gasped violently to the feeling that sprouted within me. It felt like my body was coming apart and it frightened me more than anything before. My heart beat painfully in my chest with the fear that began to take a hold of me.

I wanted to voice my fear. Make him stop doing what he was doing. I didn't get a chance to do so. Sesshōmaru let go of my nipple with a soft pop and shuffled above me, until I felt his hot breath against my ear.

"Don't fight it," he whispered breathlessly into my ear.

He kept his hand on my sex, rubbing the heel of his hand against that spot. My body felt so rigid and tight that it almost became painful with the sensation his hand caused. I gasped for air as each breath felt like I didn't get any oxygen. I was beginning to panic as the hot fiery spring tightened in me and threatened to snap. What should I do?

Then Sesshōmaru whispered more hurriedly into my ear: "Let go!"

As if his words were magical, the tight spring in me snapped at his whispered command. I felt my body lightened and euphoria spread over my entire being, both body and soul. Desperately I clung myself to him and burrowed my head into the crook of his neck. I screamed his name into his neck as my body seemed to vibrate with the sensation, and my mind became blissfully numb.

I didn't know how long I clung to him, but the fog that had filled my mind seemed to dissipate and I regained the ability to think.

Though at first, my thoughts seemed to be a big jumble of inconsistency, they soon took solid form. Was that an orgasm I had just experienced?

I never knew it felt like that. Then the thought of my orgasm came at the hand of Sesshōmaru entered my mind. Dear kami, had I let Sesshōmaru touch me like that willingly?

I could feel myself blush with the thought of Sesshōmaru making me feel such a euphoria. Especially when I felt his lips on my neck, kissing the heated skin passionately. Did he plan to continue?

I could hear myself moan when he continued to lavish my fair skin with heated kisses and licks. Then I was abruptly pulled out of my stupor by a certain imp squawking in his shrilly voice.

"Be quiet you infuriating mortal! How are we to get any sleep with your persistent jammers?!"

Dear kami, I had completely forgotten that Sesshōmaru and I weren't alone. Jaken and the dragon lied not thirty feet away from us!

Sesshōmaru didn't seem to be affected by Jaken's protests of me disturbing the rest of our group as he kept kissing my neck with his lips seeking further down over my naked skin.

But my mind was clear with the interruption Jaken had made. I needed to get away from Sesshōmaru and be alone for a while. I pushed against Sesshōmaru's chest, trying to get him off of me, but he wasn't moving away. On the contrary, his hand began to run up and down against my lady parts, through the fabric of my leggings. I felt panicky with his touch against my most intimate parts, which created small tiny sparks within my core.

"Stop!" I exclaimed in a hushed voice, yet I could clearly hear the creeping fear in my voice.

Sesshōmaru immediately stopped his motions. His body seemed to tense up like it took all his willpower to heed my word. I felt him shift away from me, then his eyes staring intently on my face. My eyes were closed for a few more seconds before I found the courage to open them. The look in his golden eyes seemed to be bewildered and confused at my sudden wish to stop.

It took me by surprise, but I had more urgent matters at hand: I needed more space in between me and Sesshōmaru.

Hastily, I shuffled away from underneath him and righted my clothes, hiding my breasts from his sight. With fear as my companion, I quickly got up on my feet and ran away from him. But I managed to see the angered look in his eyes before I ran in between some tall bushes and exited the clearing.

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**A/N: I'm sorry, yet not sorry, for leaving you hanging on a high. As an aspiring author, I must say that if you don't get hot and physically excited over writing your steamy parts, you shouldn't expect others to get hot and bothered by it. Even though I wrote this a few months ago, I still got excited when I reread the steamy bit. What about you? Was it exciting for you?**

**Anyways, a little secretive review for next chapter: there will be some questions answered about Aiko, so stay tuned 'til next Sunday. Love you guys and have a great week.**


	16. Chapter 16 - Gin

**A/N: It's Sunday once again, and that means a new chapter to you guys. First off, I will start with a small apology: in the previous chapter, I wrote that many questions would be answered in this chapter… well, it's the next chapter I meant and not this, so you'll have to wait a bit longer before those beforementioned questions will be answered. Yet, this doesn't mean that this chapter is bad (hopefully)… Anyways, I hope you can survive another small week before that happens.**

**Now, it's time for my rounds of gratitude. First off, a big thanks to kitsunlover, mariee98, and KatQueenOfHearts for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. Next off, a big thank you to Kagz419 and kitsunlover for leaving a review; there will be a little reply to you (Kagz419) in a short moment. I would also like to thank you all for taking the time to read my story and to all of you that have my story on their Alert-list; thank you, thank you, thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**To Kagz419: I hate to break it to you, but it wasn't supposed to be a dream (the steamy part). I felt at first a bit confused by your review that you had read **_**it**_** as a dream. In future references; dreams, memories, and flashbacks are written entirely in **_**italic**_**. So, hopefully there won't be a misunderstanding the next time. But I love that you got excited by that part and I really appreciate your praise.**

**Now that's out of the way, let's continue with the story:**

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**Chapter 16 – Gin**

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Dear kami, what had just happened?

I kept running, almost getting tripped by thorny branches every couple of steps I took. My lungs were burning with the need for air, and I knew that I would have to stop up soon to catch my breath. That stop came sooner than I expected when my foot got caught by a big uprooted root. I fell to my knees, with one hand on the ground to balance myself while the other held my osode closed at the chest. I was panting rapidly, trying to catch my breath.

Slowly the burning sensation in my lungs dissipated, and I was able to form coherent thoughts once again.

_How did this happen?_ I thought when I was reminded of what I had just done with Sesshōmaru.

I had let him touch me! Let him do what he wanted to do with my body! I had even gotten an orgasm by his ministrations!

If Jaken hadn't squawked up when he did, I was pretty sure that Sesshōmaru would have claimed me. My body was still tingling from the aftershock of my orgasm and seemed to crave more of Sesshōmaru's touches. I shouldn't be desiring him like I was. But tell that to my treacherous body, who willingly surrendered itself to his simplest touch. Kami, I didn't need this on my plate as well! I had enough with being his hostage, having my yōki-problem, and being in the freaking past. I didn't need more!

How I wished that I could just turn off my freaking attraction to him. But I found myself confused by those things he had done to me. Why had he touch me in such a way?

He hated humans and hanyō with his whole heart. I was sure of it. Yet he had no qualms with me. He even seemed to want me.  
I was so confused because I couldn't see the reason why he wanted me to begin with. Was I some sort of prize or something alike that he wanted to conquer?

Damn, I was getting a headache with this puzzle at hand. The puzzle being a certain mononoke that was impossible to read and understand.

My heart was still beating rapidly in my chest, and I seemed to be unable to calm myself down. It was almost infuriating how I was unable to resist him. Not only his touch but his freaking _scent_ as well! He had so much power over me that it was scary as hell. I shouldn't allow it! I _wouldn't_ allow it!

I needed to keep my distance from him. But I knew that I wouldn't be able to escape from him. He would always find me, thanks to his damn yōkai blood and great sense of smell.

Damn, thinking about smell: I must've reek of sex.

_My sex!_

I glanced down at my body, seeing my barely covered breasts. I nervously let go of my osode and let it part away from the center, exposing my heated skin. My fair hide was littered with hickeys and love bites. He had marked me. And I hadn't even registered it in the heat of our intimate thrust. My cheeks heated up immensely at the embarrassment of being marked by that yōkai.

And then I vividly remembered how he licked and sucked on my nipples. Just thinking about how his soft lips and hot mouth had felt around my nipples made them taut with excitement.

How was I ever able to face him again without my body being reminded of how his mouth felt upon my skin? Or how he ignited my body by grinding his pelvis against my own?

He had been excited as well … I had felt him harden against my lady parts.

_Dear kami, I'm such a pervert!_

I shouldn't be thinking about Sesshōmaru in such a light! But damn, it was hard not to. His low rumbling growls that had vibrated through his chest had simply rocked my core and spoken to my primal side. The side of me that wanted to be claimed by him. Mate with him. And be impregnated with his seed. To carry his pups …

"What the hell am I thinking?!" I shouted with embarrassment of my own thoughts.

I didn't want to be pregnant! I was only sixteen for crying out loud! And why the bloody hell did I call them pups in my own mind?

Those would be babies I would be carrying in my belly. Not freaking puppies!

But something in me disagreed with my statement: _**The offspring of Sesshōmaru would be pups, since he is an inu daiyōkai …**_

_Huh?!_ I thought as something in my mind seemed to be speaking to me, whom wasn't me.

I was officially going insane!

No, I should stop thinking in those lanes. I was just distraught by the happenings of this night.

With that thought set straight, I needed to cover myself up. I didn't want something to crawl up behind me and attack me in my current state.

So, I began to right my clothes when I found out that my bra wasn't supporting my breasts anymore. I tugged at the fabric to reveal my cut-up bra. Under our escapade, Sesshōmaru had cut up the middle strip in between the two cups, so he had better access to my fleshy mounds.

Damnit! At this rate, I would end up having no clothes to wear at all. This was the third piece of clothing he had ruined. First it was my osode – back when he had kidnapped me the first time – then my leggings about a week ago. And now my bra. At least I had a few spare ones in my sack.

That's when I remembered that I stormed out of the clearing, leaving my sack behind.

Great, I was stuck with what I was wearing. I tore off the bra from my body; it was useless anyway, then pulled my osode up to cover my naked chest. The osode was then secured in place with my obi.

A chilling wind then swept past me and seemed to be extremely cold when it hit me between my legs. Curious to why it felt so much colder there, I glanced down between my legs but saw nothing. It confused me, so I moved my hand to touch myself, only to find my leggings soaked where they covered my lady parts. That's when I realized that it was my own love juices.

I could have died on the spot by humiliation. My body had _really_ loved Sesshōmaru's touches because my leggings were completely drenched.

_Why're you doing this to me, kami?_

I couldn't return to the clearing while wearing these leggings – and panties – but I couldn't return to the clearing wearing nothing underneath my osode, either.

Weighing my options, I decided to take them off, because they felt too uncomfortable to wear now that I had found out that they were drenched with my love juices. It was so embarrassing to stand in the middle of a forest with only my osode on. I could only hope that I could sneak back to our camp, grab a fresh pair of clothes, and stuff my used clothes back in my sack. Without being noticed. Crumbling my used panties and leggings, and my destroyed bra in my hands, I walked back to the clearing.

When I reached the tall bushes that hid me from the clearing, I stopped up. My heart was hammering heavily in my chest. I was worried about entering the clearing. What if Sesshōmaru was still there, waiting for me to come back?

It would be so embarrassing for me if he saw me in such a skimpy outfit as I was wearing now.

I closed my eyes and used my ability to sense yōki: Jaken's and the dragon's yōki were there, but I couldn't feel Sesshōmaru's. Either he wasn't there, or he was hiding his yōki from me. There was only one way to find out. I sneaked a peek in between the bushes.

The small fire was still burning in the small camp fire Jaken had created – he always created the camp fires when we stopped up for a rest. The dragon and Jaken were sleeping near it. Letting my gaze sweep over the rest of the clearing, I couldn't see Sesshōmaru. It looked like the coast was clear.

As stealthily as I could move, I snuck in through the bushes, the leaves rustling slightly when I passed through the bushes; they weren't rustling more than if it was the wind that had rattled the leaves. Succeeding in sneaking into the clearing, I then proceeded over to the camp fire and searched for my sack. It was lying beside the dragon. I moved silently over to it and squatted down beside it, glancing warily at the sleeping two-headed dragon. Slowly I moved my hand to grab my sack.

Just as I touched it, one of the dragon's head huffed a breath of air. I froze in mid-motion, afraid to be discovered in such an embarrassing outfit. It grumbled a bit, but soon snoozed off again. I breathed out shakily. For a second, I was scared that the dragon would wake up.

My heart was thundering in my chest, and it felt like it had moved up to my throat. Hastily and silently, I grabbed my sack and began to backtrack my steps. Never once did I turn my eyes away from the two sleeping individuals near the fire.

I succeeded in my escape from the clearing. When I had stepped through the bushes once more, I let out a heavy sigh, relieved that I hadn't been found out. I quickly opened my sack and pulled out my last pair of leggings and a pair of panties, and quickly donned them. I decided to skip the bra, thinking that it would be nice to sleep without it for once. Then I hastily stuffed the dirtied clothes into the sack and closed it.

_Done._

Now I just needed to get back into the clearing and try to catch some shut-eye. Kami knew that I needed it.

I snuck back into the clearing and over to the fire. Lying down, I sighed out with relief at not being caught walking into the clearing half-naked. I lied on my back with my hands folded behind my head and glanced up at the starlit sky. It was such a beautiful night sky, and it almost always stole my breath away. Back in my era, the sky was polluted by the light from the city, making it almost impossible to watch the night sky. But here … I could stare at the sky and be marveled by its nightly beauty.

I sighed and closed my eyes, imprinting the stars on the inside of my eyelids. While I began to doze off, I couldn't help but wonder where Sesshōmaru had gone off to.

~oOo~

_**Heads up.**_

Just as the warning rang out in my mind, my hand moved on its own accord and wrapped around an object I knew too well. It was so infuriating that Jaken had tried to strike me with Nintōjō yet again. Talk about an abrupt awakening.

"Jaken! Do you want me to burn your staff?!" I growled with frustration.

My eyes narrowed on the green imp and he mimicked my expression.

"You should have reacted the first time! It's the Lord's wish that you awake, you stupid girl! We're leaving!" Jaken squawked at me and walked away when I let go of his staff.

I squinted up at the sky, which had only just begun lighting up – it had only just become dawn. Letting a heavy sigh leave my lips, I sluggishly got up and grabbed my stuff.

When I glanced up to see where the others were, I immediately saw the dragon was awaiting me. Jaken was right on Sesshōmaru's heels, while Sesshōmaru himself was already leaving the clearing, a foul aura surrounding him. Someone was clearly in a bad mood, which made me wonder why.

Instantly, I mentally slapped my forehead. It was no wonder why he was in such a foul mood: it was probably due to me physically turning him down, after Jaken had interrupted our thrust. And this was after he had brought me to an orgasm.

I actually felt kind of sorry for him; I had left him hanging with his own needs while I got satisfied. But at the same time, I needed to think about myself first. I wasn't ready for such a development. It just felt too soon. How long had I known Sesshōmaru? A month or two?

Somewhere in between, I supposed. I only have had my period once while I've traveled with Sesshōmaru. Come to think of it, it was probably time for the next round of my personal hell. I just wished that Sesshōmaru wouldn't treat me like a helpless woman like last time. Probably wouldn't come true.

"Morning," I said once I reached the dragon.

Both heads growled in greeting, but it didn't move along. Both heads glanced upon its back and back to me a few times. I guessed that it wanted me to get up on its back.

"I'm fine for now," I said to its gesture and gave it a gentle pat on its right shoulder.

It huffed a breath of air, and headed onwards, following after Sesshōmaru. I followed as well.

When I got through some bushes that hid the clearing, my feet landed on a forest trail which was wide enough for the dragon to follow without getting caught by branches or such. We followed the trail with Sesshōmaru leading the way. The air around us was tense with Sesshōmaru's yōki swirling off of him in ominous waves.

Damn, he must be really mad at me for leaving him dry. But like I had told myself once already, I needed to take care of myself first and foremost. I couldn't and shouldn't surrender my body to him, like I had done the night before. Thinking back on last night, my body began to tingle with the memory of Sesshōmaru's lips and tongue. I tried to shake the feeling off of me. Now was not the time to get excited. Especially not when I wanted to avoid such a happenstance to ever repeat itself.

But damn, he really knew how to use his mouth to ignite my body.

_No, Aiko! Bad girl! You mustn't think of Sesshōmaru in such a light!_

_**But you **__**loved**__** it!**_

There was that voice again. The voice I had heard the night before, after I fled the clearing to gather my thoughts. It sounded just like me, yet I knew that it wasn't _me_. I was driving myself crazy, imagining a new voice in my head. Was I developing a split personality?

_**No.**_

Like I would trust this other voice of _mine_. I needed to clear my head of any thoughts. Maybe I could distract myself by looking at my surroundings…?

I glanced around me, but quickly got bored: the trees looked like the same with not enough to divert them from each other. I sighed heavily at myself for feeling bored.

Without me really registering it, I began to withdraw back into my head. After a few minutes of random thoughts, the voice spoke up again.

_**You remember who initiated the thrust last night…?**_

Why would the voice ask me that?

It was obvious that Sesshōmaru had initiated it! He was obviously a pervert in some sense.

_**Think again.**_

_Huh?_ _It was Sesshōmaru that initiated it … wasn't it?_

As soon as I had asked myself that question, images of last night appeared before my eyes.

_I was sitting on Sesshōmaru's lap, with my front pressed up against his. His clawed hand had just moved to the back of my head, holding me in place. My eyes were closed while our noses touched, nose tip against nose tip. Then he moved his head closer to mine, his soft lips hovering over my own. There was just about half an inch between our lips, but he didn't move to claim my lips. He taunted me with his hot breath against my lips. I could feel that I wanted his lips on mine, but he didn't move the last bit to claim my lips. It was maybe a minute that passed by when _I_ eliminated the last bit of distance between our lips._

It was me that had initiated the kiss, which lead to the next thing, which then lead to the next. Dear kami, I had unintentionally initiated the thrust between Sesshōmaru and I last night.

"Holy kami-sama," I mumbled to myself.

My cheeks heated up instantly with the realization: I had led him on! Without meaning to do so! _Kami! Just strike me down where I stand; I can't bear the shame of what I've done!_

My hands moved up to my cheeks trying to calm down the fevered splotches on them. My heart was beating incredibly fast in my chest, threatening to beat out of it.

_**There's no need for summoning a kami. If you apologize and give yourself to him, I'm sure that Sesshōmaru-sama would be more than forgiving … in the form of giving you heavenly orgasms.**_

_Dear kami, no! I'm not a freaking perv! I don't want to give up my body in the first place!_

_**But your body wants him! And deep down, **__**you**__** want him as well. He is an ideal mate.**_

_Mate?! I'm not some kind of animal who takes a mate! I don't _want_ him at all! And why am I discussing it with _you_?_

_You aren't real, just a flick of my imagination!_

The voice then chuckled at me, before saying: _**Try telling yourself that enough times. It'll remain a lie!**_

I wasn't going to continue discussing with _that_ _voice_ anymore. I didn't like it!

"Woman!"

_Huh? That was Sesshōmaru's voice … when did he get inside my head?_

_Wait a minute … he isn't in my head…_

I glanced up and saw Sesshōmaru's golden eyes were narrowed at me in a displeased manner. Had I done something wrong? And when did we get back to him calling me 'woman'?

That's when I figured out the problem. I had stopped up in the middle of the forest trail. My discussion with the _other_ _voice_ had completely swallowed me whole: I hadn't registered that I had stopped walking.

"I'm sorry," I exclaimed embarrassedly and hurried onwards to catch up to the rest of our little group.

When I reached the dragon, Sesshōmaru was still staring at me and his yōki was swirling around him, indicating his annoyance with me. He didn't say another word for the whole minute or two he stared at me. In that time frame, I was unable to tear my eyes away from him.

_Damn his golden eyes for being so magnetic._

My cheeks were still flushed, and I felt them become redder and redder for each second that passed by while he stared into my eyes. I couldn't help but think of our little thrust while our eyes were locked in the intense gaze. I could only hope that he wasn't able to read my mind and see what I was thinking off.

_Damn, I'm such a pervert for thinking about his sinful touches._

My body tingled and vibrated with sudden need for being close to him like last night.

His nose quivered as he sniffed the air, then his lips tucked up a bit at the right corner. He was smirking!

_Dear kami! He knew what the hell I was thinking about! Damn my treacherous body for reacting to his mere presence._

He then turned around and continued to lead us onwards. I chose to get up on the dragon's back; I didn't want to repeat this instance that had just occurred.

My hands clenched desperately around the saddle, with my eyes staring at my hands. My heart was still beating quickly in my chest and I could feel that my cheeks were still on fire. I had to be careful around Sesshōmaru. He was too smart to miss my reactions towards him. Why the hell did I end up in this situation as a fucking abductee of a certain yōkai who was damned near irresistible?

~oOo~

"We rest here," Sesshōmaru said in his usual tone.

The sun had already set, the stars appearing on the night sky like small white dots, twinkling with their brilliance. We had arrived at a small cave, with what appeared to be enough room for all of us without being crammed too close together.

I wasn't as tired as I should've been; I had taken a short nap on the dragon's back. The dragon yōkai seemed exhausted when it sluggishly sauntered into the cave, with Jaken right on its heels in the same sluggish manner. I was about to follow the others, but I was stopped by Sesshōmaru's clawed hand on my shoulder. He turned me around and let go of my shoulder. His back was turned towards me while he glanced at me from over his right furred shoulder.

He clearly wanted me to follow him, but I was reluctant to do so. I didn't want to be alone with him; who knew what would happen if I was left alone with him?

He seemed to sense my hesitation.

"Come," he said emotionlessly.

But I stood still on the spot I was in.

"I'd rather go inside the cave," I said honestly; I would be somewhat safe with the others close by.

He didn't like my answer, which was clear with his next words: "Do as you're told, woman," he said icily.

There was a warning in his tone, and I was once again a fool for not heeding his warning.

"No!" I said pointedly and turned around to walk inside the cave.

But he was having none of that. He forcefully grabbed a hold of me and flung me over his furred shoulder.

"Put me down!" I exclaimed angrily for being manhandled by him.

I struggled in his hold, trying to get free.

All he said was: "No," in an emotionless tone.

Then he took to the sky, the ground and trees looking miniscule with how far up in the air we went. I gasped with the tingling sensation that sprouted in my stomach; it was like the anticipation one got when they were in a rollercoaster on the way up the high climb before the big drop.

It was breathtaking to see the world looking so small beneath us.

I stopped struggling in his hold – I knew better than to struggle when we were so high up in the sky. There was no way that I would survive such a huge fall, if he accidentally let go of me. Instead, I clung to his heavenly-scented fur and enjoyed the view, sighing appreciatively at experiencing something so magnificent.

We flew for a short while with me only glancing at my surroundings with wonder.

The night sky looked even more beautiful from up here than on the ground. It was like I could touch the sparkling stars with my fingertips.

I could easily get used to this; flying underneath the night sky and enjoy the gentle breeze that swept through my short hair. But soon we began to descend, and I knew that our little flight was over.

When he landed on the ground, he didn't set me down immediately. And I didn't give any indication of wanting to get down. I was more than content with being this close to his lovely fur.

A few minutes passed by with me relaxing on his shoulder, clinging onto his fluffy fur. I could feel his eyes studying me. Then all too soon, he put me down to the ground. When my feet were planted solidly on the earthy floor, I was standing close to him with his hand resting on the lower part of my back.

I didn't let go of his fur, which followed me off of his shoulder. My arms were wrapped possessively around the exquisite fur, wordlessly claiming it as my possession. His lips seemed to quiver up a bit in the corner of his mouth, like he was amused at the sight in front of him.

Silence filled the small space between us while we looked at each other. But soon his gaze turned cold and his mouth turned back to its usual mime. Then came the tension and I began to twitch on the spot.

"You left," he stated so suddenly, bursting the silence that had filled the air around us.

I didn't know what to answer to that statement. Though I was certain that he was speaking of last night, I didn't feel like answering his unspoken inquiry. I didn't want to explain to him _why_ I had left him hanging. My arms clung his fur closer to my chest, futilely using it as a shield between me and him. He took a step closer to me, which I immediately responded to by taking a step back. Even though his hand was on my lower back, he didn't use it to pull me closer to him. Actually, he removed his hand from my back, letting it hang by his side. I could feel his eyes staring at me. But I had shifted my gaze away, glancing down and to the side. I couldn't look him in the eyes right now. If I did, his eyes would spellbind me, and I would let him do what he wanted to do with me. And I didn't want to surrender my body to him again, even though my body was vibrating with the need of being close to him, being embraced by his intoxicating scent and warmth.

"Why?" he then asked as he took a step closer to me.

I once again took a hasty step back, using my willpower to overrule the wishes of my body. He wanted to know _why_, but I didn't want to talk about last night. Not with him at least. The only one I would ever want to talk about it with was with Kagome. But even talking it with her wouldn't be so appealing. It was too embarrassing and humiliating to talk about.

_**You can talk with me about it, but you already know what my opinion on it is…**_

That voice again. This was not the time to be having a mental debate with a voice without a corporeal body.

Sesshōmaru took another step forward, and I immediately took a step backwards, but this time, I bumped into a tree. I was now trapped between him at my front and the tree at my back. He took another step and invaded my comfort zone, stepping into my personal space. I could feel his eyes on me, but I squeezed my eyes shut. I wouldn't be able to withstand the pull of his magnetic eyes if I happened to stare into them.

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled into his fur, which I had forced up in front of my face to shield me from looking at him.

His fur wiggled, trying to get free of my hold, but I was relentless in my hold of it. I really didn't want to be in this situation.

Silence stretched on for a while until I felt his hand wrap around the wrist of my left hand. He pried my hand off of his fur, which was easy for him to do since he was much stronger than me. When my hand left his fur, his fur escaped my grasp and I was left without the physical shield I had been using it as. Suddenly I felt very naked in front of him and tried to pull away from him, but I couldn't because of the damnable tree against my back.

His hand kept its hold on my wrist, and he moved closer to me. I could feel his warmth roll over me when his body was almost pressed completely up against mine. He was too close for comfort. Then I felt his hot breath against my left ear.

"Aiko," he whispered into my ear.

I knew he was trying to coax me into looking at him, but I refused wholeheartedly. If I did, my body would surrender completely to him, and then he would be able to have his way with me. I couldn't allow it.

His whisper of my name made me whimper as it tore at my resolve against him. My body shook with my desperation for not giving into him. Yet my body yearned for his nearness and wanted to surrender to him. It was like my blood ran hot and strongly in my veins, trying to break my willpower over my body. I couldn't hold myself back much longer. His nearness was breaking my will altogether with my own blood. They were working against my wishes.

"Why do you resist?" Sesshōmaru whispered against my ear.

_Why do I resist?_ I asked myself.

Because of my tortured past. Because it was too soon to envelope with him. Because he was my abductor. Why shouldn't I resist?

_**Because you want him, even though you don't want to admit it.**_

Not again. That voice kept popping up when I least expected it. It was infuriating that it chose to speak to me in such a bad situation as the one I was in.

"I can't…" I whispered breathlessly.

I just couldn't face him right now, and I didn't have any way to escape from his closeness and his demands – nor his scent and warmth.

I could feel Sesshōmaru tense, but that wasn't my main focus. My focus was on trying to maintain my sanity. The feeling of me being drawn into the depths of my mind fell over me. I was unable to resist the pull of withdrawal, and I let myself be sucked into the void of my mind.

~oOo~

My surrounding was pitch black and I suddenly felt extremely lonely. I let myself fall to the ground.

Then I wrapped my arms around me in a protective manner. My eyes were closed, and I could feel hot tears roll down my heated cheeks. I felt extremely cold and began to shiver with how cold I felt.

There was no sound around me, and I couldn't even hear my own heartbeat or myself breathing. It was eerily silent in my mind. My mind felt devoid of any thoughts.

I didn't know how long I was trapped there, feeling lonely and cold, but suddenly mummers began to surround me. But I wasn't able to discern what was being said. It was like I was in a glass bell and the words kept bouncing on the glass, making the bell ring and muffle the words that were spoken. It was so confusing, yet I didn't feel confused. I could only feel my loneliness.

The mummers became louder and clearer, until I was able to discern the words that were spoken.

"_Who are you?"_ I heard a deep and manly voice say.

The voice reminded me of Sesshōmaru's, with its cold and emotionless tone that vibrated in his deep, manly voice. But I couldn't see him, only hear his words. They seemed to echo on the invisible glass bell I was residing in, surrounding me with the questioning words.

_Who am I?_ I heard myself think.

My question kept ringing around me. I didn't know who I was anymore. Not since I had learned of my unexplainable yōki. If I had a yōki, then I couldn't be human. My parents had been human, I was sure of it.

"_You may call me Gin."_

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**A/N: And that's another cliffhanger. Damn, I really love and hate myself for leaving you guys hanging. But that's how I've written it. And I dare say that a good cliffhanger makes a reader crave your story more and come back to it to get their curiosity sated. What do you think of this turn of event?**

**And I have an exciting news to tell you: I've returned to the studies and three tries for you to guess what my subject is. Going once… going twice… going thrice… and … I'm studying Japanese. It's so exhilarating that I'm finally going to learn a language that I've wanted to learn since I was 12-13 years old. I'm so happy about it!**

**Now, enough words from me this time, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are anticipating the next one with all of your heart. Bye for now and a great week to you all.**


	17. Chapter 17 - Descendant

**A/N: Howdy my dear readers. Another Sunday has come and it's time for another chapter of my story. First off, a big thanks to , TAINA23, Yakitori-Chan, TheRedQueen1116, huishan091088, inam730, becks121, llLittle Sll, , Triple T 123, rosytheheal11, and HeartlessVampireGirl for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. (I must say that I'm flabbergasted at seeing 12 new members to the fave-fam since last chapter … just … WOW!)**

**Next off, a big thanks to Kagz419 (I've noticed your faithful reviewing for almost every chapter; I really appreciate your thoughts and praise), moonlight1ify, and peygoodwin for leaving a review, my heart soars with your written words.**

**Also, a big thanks to all of you who's put my story on their Alert-list and to ****all**** of you for spending the time to read my story. Thank you so much!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**A small Warning: This chapter may seem a tad dark and depressing. You have been warned. **

**To moonlight1ify: Hopefully you'll get some idea in this chapter as to why Sesshōmaru is attracted to Aiko. I can't give you a direct answer, as it might spoil my story, so this have to suffice. But thank you for **_**"sort of"**_** asking me about Sesshōmaru's "sudden" attraction.**

**Anyways, let's get on with the main event:**

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**Chapter 17 – Descendant**

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"_You may call me Gin."_

It sounded like me, but I knew it wasn't _me_. I felt like it was my other _me_; my yōkai blood. So, _she_ had taken a hold of my body, while I stayed here locked up in my mind. I didn't really care. The only thing I cared about was the loneliness I felt surrounding me.

"_Where's Aiko?_"

Sesshōmaru's cold voice vibrated against the glass bell I was encased in, making the glass ring with the echo of his deep voice.

"_She's locked herself up inside her mind..._"

Silence then surrounded me again, though something seemed to vibrate around me inside my mental prison. Somehow, I recognized it. It felt like Sesshōmaru's yōki. Was he trying to reach out to me?

His yōki was soothing and seemed to beg me to come back to him. I was almost compelled to reach out and grab a hold of his yōki and let it lead me out of my self-imprisonment. But then I remembered why I was here in the first place. I wasn't ready to face him yet.

The glass bell around me thickened and seemed to repel his enticing yōki.

"_She won't come out until she's ready._"

My other self's statement – or _Gin_ as _she_ called herself – rung around me, echoing against the invisible glass bell I was encased in.

Right. I wasn't coming out anytime soon. I was_ definitely_ not ready to face Sesshōmaru. Not yet. And I would probably never be ready for it. But I had all the time to figure that out while I stayed inside this darkness of my mind. Stayed lonely, yet safe within this mentally constructed and invisible glass bell.

Once again, silence and loneliness were my only companions in here. I couldn't hear them talking anymore. One would be able to hear a feather flutter to the ground as loud as a rock-concert. If there was anyone who dropped a feather inside my mind. That's how silent it was in here.

Suddenly my hands began to feel warm, and I recognized the warmth. It was the same warmth I felt whenever I was near Sesshōmaru. What was _Gin_ doing out there in the real world while I was locked up in my mind?

The invisible glass bell began to vibrate and soon after, images began to emerge upon the invisible surface. They were blurry at first but quickly sharpened, and I was able to see what the glass bell was projecting to me.

I saw Sesshōmaru, as clear as day, standing in front of me with his usual cold demeanor. But his eyes were glistening with an emotion I couldn't quite decipher. He seemed almost sad. Which was absurd. The _great_ Sesshōmaru would have nothing to be sad about!

His golden eyes sought downwards, and I followed his line of view and saw a pair of hands resting upon his chest. They seemed awfully familiar: I could've sworn that those were my hands. Except for the claws at the end of each fingertip, and the thin forest green stripes, resting on the inside of my wrists – one stripe on each wrist. Were those yōkai markings?

I had a feeling that it was indeed yōkai markings on my wrists.

And that's when I realized that _Gin_ was resting _my _hands – though transformed – against his chest, and that's why I could feel the warmth emitting from his body. I didn't want _her_ to touch him! _She _shouldn't touch _him_!

"_AIKO?!_"

_Gin_ sounded panicky and her voice rang inside the glass bell I was hiding myself in. The image of Sesshōmaru in front of me began to blur, until it vanished completely. The warmth escaped from my hands and I knew that _Gin _wasn't touching Sesshōmaru's chest anymore.

In less than five seconds after the warmth had disappeared from my hands, a new warmth formed on my upper left arm. Then I felt Sesshōmaru's yōki swirl around me insistently.

But I ignored his yōki and hugged my knees tighter up against my chest. I wouldn't come out, even if he begged me to do so.

In the far recesses of my darkened mind, I could feel a new presence, though I knew this presence quite well. It was _Gin_; my other self. _Her_ presence came closer and closer towards me. Then a clawed hand with a thin forest green stripe on the inner wrist appeared in front of me. It rested against the invisible glass bell, and I could only glance at the appendage.

"Aiko, why did you force me in here too?" the owner of the hand asked me with the same voice as my own.

I didn't answer _her_ … _me_? … _Gin _… I didn't feel like talking.

_She_ sighed at me, and then _her_ other hand was resting against the invisible glass. It was an exact image of the first hand, though mirrored as a pair of hands should be. Another sigh came from _her_ and then a soft thudding sound rung gently against my invisible glass bell. My eyes glided up and I could see a smooth forehead resting against the invisible glass, a couple of inches above the pair of hands. But I couldn't see _her_ facial features; it was too dark in here.

"You're scared…" _she_ said softly, her voice clear – and like my own – rang against the glass of the invisible bell.

I didn't answer her. Instead, I closed my eyes and rested my forehead against my bent knees.

"What scares you so?" _she _asked me gently.

"What … ?" I mumbled in askance.

What scared me so?

That question seemed to echo in my mind. It would almost be easier to ask me what didn't scare me. I was scared of everything that was happening to me; the revelation of me having a _yōki_. My _yōkai_ blood, _who_ was standing in front of me. Barred from me with my encasement inside the invisible glass bell and shrouded in darkness.

I was scared of my attraction to Sesshōmaru. How he easily could make my body comply to him by his simplest touch. Or with his amazing scent that rendered me content and near-docile. Or his welcoming warmth that washed over me, whenever I was close to him. It scared me because I shouldn't be so attracted to my abductor. Which was also a reason for me to be scared. He had kidnapped me and prevented me from being at Kagome's side. Kagome, my sister from another mother. My sister of another bloodline.

Why shouldn't I be scared about what had happened to me in these last thirty-something days?

I could hear fabrics shuffling on the other side of my invisible glass bell and glanced up from my knees. _Gin_ had kneeled down in front of the invisible glass. Both _her_ hands rested against the unseen barrier that was in between us.

"Aiko," _she_ said softly, "Let me help lessen your fright…"

My green eyes shifted over _her_ shadowed face and caught _her_ eyes; the only visible attribute on _her_ face. _Her_ eyes were almost the same color as mine, but they seemed to be alight like the moon on a black sky. And they seemed to be the same forest green color as the stripes on _her_ wrist.

"How?" I asked quietly.

I could feel that _she_ was smiling at me, though I couldn't see _her _smile.

"By shedding some light on the darkness that fills your thoughts."

Like magic, _her_ words seemed to brighten up my nearest surroundings. The gentle white light that filtered through my darkened mind enveloped _her_.

_She looks almost exactly like me!_ I thought surprised when I was able to see her clearly.

Though _she_ looked a lot like me, there were a few distinct features that set us apart. _Her_ eyes were exactly the same color as the stripes on _her_ wrists. And _she_ had a single stripe in the same forest green color on _her_ cheekbones, which started underneath the middle of _her_ eyes and followed the underlying bone structure out to _her_ hairlines. _Her_ hair, which was the same color as my own dark blond hair, was swept backwards and revealed the slightly pointed ears she sported.

"You look like me," I said with surprise.

_She _laughed at my statement. Not a haughty laugh, but a laugh of mirth.

"That's because I'm you … I'm a part of you due to your heritage … through your blood."

_Her _hands were still resting against the bell I had created, and _her_ eyes were holding mine captive in a gentle gaze. _She_ had no ill intensions against me, I could see it in _her_ eyes.

"But how is that possible?" I whispered my question, "How can I have yōkai blood if my parents were humans? They couldn't have been yōkai!"

_Her_ eyes seemed to sadden at my questions and statement: "No … your parents weren't yōkai … not pureblooded at least. They were both descendants of powerful yōkai bloodlines."

"Was I adopted?" I asked her desperately.

How could the people I called mother and father have been my real parents? They couldn't have been my real parents if I had yōkai blood … could they?

"No," _she_ said firmly, "The ones you call otō-san and okā-san were indeed your parents of blood."

Silence stretched out in between us as I swallowed the information just given to me. My parents had been descendants of yōkai, and I had inherited their yōkai blood. But they never told me that yōkai blood ran in our family. Neither my father nor my mother had said anything that indicated this to be real.

_Gin_ then broke the silence: "I'm the yōkai blood from your otō-san's side."

This caught my attention: _Gin_ was my yōkai blood from my father's side, but what about my mother's yōkai blood?

I righted my position by letting go of my knees and leaning my weight against my left hand, which rested on the mental ground beneath us. My body posture was now more open, reflecting my openness to hear _her_ explanations.

"What kind of yōkai are you? And do you know what kind of yōkai my okā-san was a descendant of? What have I inherited from her?"

"I'm an inu … but I don't know of your okā-san's yōkai bloodline."

I felt disappointed that _she_ didn't know of my mother's bloodline, but then again… _she_ was from my father's side, so it kind of made sense that _she_ wouldn't know of the other bloodline.

But wouldn't I know something about it? Wouldn't I have felt my other bloodline if it was powerful yōkai blood that ran through my veins?

"What I know is that _it_ is locked up deep inside of you. Whatever _it_ is that you inherited from your okā-san."

I scowled at _her_ with confusion: _it_ was locked up deep inside of me. What was this _it_?

"_It_?" I asked her confusedly.

"I don't know what _it_ is. I just know that _it_ is locked up deep inside of you with some powerful seal of some kind."

"I see…" was all I said to _her_ explanation.

I guessed that I wouldn't get all of my questions answered this time. And I couldn't help but wonder what _it_ was and why _it_ was sealed away deep inside of me. It was indeed peculiar that a part of my blood was sealed away for some unknown reason.

But putting that subject aside, I could feel myself be a bit more content with myself… almost happier. Though I was still scared of my attraction to Sesshōmaru and confused by his intentions: why had he kidnapped me?

But then I thought it strange that I saw _Gin_ as another person if _she_ was a part of me; _she_ was one side of my yōkai blood.

"How come I see _you_ as a person? If you are a part of me through my blood, then wouldn't you just … be?"

I was unsure of how to explain my predicament with _seeing_ _her_ in front of me rather than _feeling her_ inside of me as a part of me.

"I'm you … another side of you that is …" _she _began to say but interrupted herself and seemed to ponder upon the subject at hand.

"It's not easy to describe … I think it has something to do with you not being ready to accept your heritage just yet. I'm not an expert and I didn't get a manual with me on this subject."

I couldn't help but laugh at her joke. A manual! It was quite funny to think that there would be a manual to my type of situation. There couldn't be that many that were in my shoes: being a descendant of yōkai.

"Makes sense … sort of…" I muttered after I had quietened my laughter.

_She_ just smiled at my statement.

"Aiko," _she_ began saying while she righted her posture, sitting in the lotus position while _she_ kept facing me.

"You shouldn't be afraid of Sesshōmaru-sama."

My brows furrowed over my green eyes with uncertainty. Why was she saying that?

"I know that he is the main reason for you to flee in here. But you can trust him," _she_ said calmly.

This made me feel conflicted. I wanted to trust _her_ words, but I wasn't ready to trust the yōkai we were now speaking of. He had kidnapped me for crying out loud. Prevented me from being with the one I wanted to be with: Kagome.

"Why do you say that? How can I trust him when he is my kidnapper?" I asked _her_, anger simmering through my spoken words.

I couldn't help but feel angry. _She_ was saying to trust my abductor!

"Instinct," was all _she _said, and this made me confused.

"Instinct?" I repeated in a dead-panned manner.

"Yes. Instinct. He wouldn't hurt you."

I almost laughed at _her_ statement: _he wouldn't hurt me!_

What a load of crap _she_ was saying! He had already threatened to kill me if I ever interfered with his business between him and InuYasha.

"Bullshit," I exclaimed angrily: "If you haven't forgotten, he has already threatened to kill me!"

_She_ sighed at my angry response, then said: "But he won't do it. He only threatened you because you hurt him, both physically and mentally. He cares too much about you to make his threat a reality."

_He cares about me?_ I thought questioningly.

I wasn't sure if I could believe _her_ statement: where was _her_ proof?

"I say it again: it's all about instinct! My instincts tell me that he cares about you. Why do you think he hasn't offed us yet? Because deep down, he has some feelings for you. Is there any other explanation to his behavior?"

I didn't know what to think of _her_ words. It wasn't like I could read the bloody yōkai, much less know what he was thinking in that beautiful head of his. Did he truly have feelings for me?

Why was I thinking that?

Even if he had feelings for me, I didn't feel the same! I couldn't let myself feel those feelings for him!

"You're in denial, Aiko."

I opened my eyes and stared right into _her_ forest green eyes.

"It's too absurd!" I exclaimed fiercely, "He couldn't possibly have feelings for me! Not those kinds of feelings that you're hinting towards! Besides, I don't have feelings for him!"

I breathed out a heavy sigh, then continued: "I don't know why he has been acting the way he has, but surely it isn't because he likes me! He might act like that towards all the females he interacts with!"

_She_ furrowed a single brow and looked at me with disbelief: "You don't believe that?!" _she_ then exclaimed with what seemed like repulsion.

"I don't know what to believe!" I shouted out angrily and stood up.

The glass bell started to vibrate with my angry outburst. Then shadows began to engulf the light that was shining upon _Gin_, casting her back into darkness.

I could hear _her_ sigh and the fabrics of her clothing when she moved. Once again, the only thing visible on _her_, was _her_ luminous forest green eyes that stared intently at me.

"I'm sure that the reason he kidnapped you was because he could smell on you that you weren't just like anybody else. He could smell the yōkai blood that runs in your veins. He wanted to figure you out."

_She_ closed her eyes, and silence stretched out in between us for a long while, until I heard _her_ footsteps retreating away from me.

"I have given you my advice… it's yours to take it or leave it. You know where to find me if you need me."

And with that, _she_ left me behind. I felt confused with this whole happenstance. What _Gin_ had said about Sesshōmaru … could it be true? Could he have feelings for me? Did he know from the very first moment he saw me that I was part yōkai? If he could smell the yōkai blood in my veins, then was I maybe just an enigma for him to solve?

Even though I felt disturbed by being some mystery for him that he wanted to solve and possibly know everything about – I felt like a frog that was being dissected in biology class – I felt somewhat honored in some twisted sense of the term. If he really wanted to know me, then why hadn't he asked me about myself?

If you really wanted answers, then questions must be asked!

I didn't know what to do about Sesshōmaru, so I chose to push him out of my mind for the time being. Instead, I reflected on my origin which _Gin_ had told me about. I had inherited yōkai blood from both my mother and my father. It was almost unbelievable, but I knew this to be true. _Gin_ was my proof of inheriting yōkai blood. At least from my father's side of the family. But what about my mother's side of the family? She was from somewhere in the Scandinavia, so was the term _yōkai_ the same there as it was here in Japan? Why was her yōkai blood that runs in my veins sealed away deep inside of me?

Though I had gotten some answers to my personal enigma, only more questions had submerged.

I sighed and let myself fall to the ground beneath me, curling myself into a human ball. I felt lonely again now that _Gin_ wasn't here to talk to me. _She_ had made me feel less lonely with _her_ presence and _her_ soft-spoken words. I was surprised that I missed her … and even more surprised that I missed a certain inu yōkai.

~oOo~

I didn't know for sure how much time passed by while I stayed locked up inside my mind, trying to figure out what to do from here on out. Of what to do with Sesshōmaru. I hadn't been able to come up with a solution to my Sesshōmaru-problem: and I hadn't gotten any clearer on his intents for me.

But I knew what my body did and went through. While I stayed cooped up in my mind, my body went through its natural routines; it kept itself hydrated and it slept when it needed to replenish its energy. And it happened to bleed because of that time of the month. My body took care of itself, changing the linen when needed, washed the used linen, and hang it up to dry. My body did all those things automatically. But it didn't eat and even I didn't know why my body refused to eat. Wasn't it a biological need to stay healthy?

If my body could even consider to change and clean linens, then it should be able to eat as well.

And I knew that Sesshōmaru had registered my body's refusal of eating. For kami's sake, he brought the food. Yet not a single bite was taken from the meats or fruits that Sesshōmaru brought up before my body.

It was on the fifth day of my period that something changed. My body was at a river, cleaning the used linen in the water, when I felt Sesshōmaru's presence behind my body. But my body didn't turn around to face him. It continued to clean the linen and acted as though Sesshōmaru wasn't even there.

"_Aiko,"_ Sesshōmaru said with his usual cold voice.

Though I couldn't see him, I knew that his face was its usual cold demeanor. My body still didn't react to Sesshōmaru's presence, but he had _my_ attention. I could feel his yōki shimmer around me in my mental prison. Trying to penetrate through the invisible glass bell that I still have myself encased in.

Suddenly, I felt a warmth on my upper right arm, and I felt my body being turned around. It was obvious that Sesshōmaru had turned my body around to face him. I felt the warmth on my arm move up to the back of my head. Then I felt him stare intensely into my corporeal green eyes, and his golden stare seemed to penetrate the mental wall that was erected around my spiritual self.

I panicky glanced up from my knees and stared out into the vast darkness of my mind. In front of the invisible glass bell I was inside, I could see Sesshōmaru's golden eyes. They were glistening like melted gold and stared intently into _my_ green eyes. Could he see _me_?

Little by little, his face came into view as well, and he was wearing his usual cold demeanor on his handsome and beautiful face as it materialized in front of my inner eye. Then the rest of him materialized as well and he stood in front of _me_, with only my invisible glass bell of a barrier in between us.

"Don't you think it's about time that you came back to reality?" he asked me emotionlessly.

I could only stare at him, frozen in my spot at seeing him inside my head, as though he was there in person. How was this possible?

But I quickly figured out that it was his yōki that stood in front of me, and it had transformed itself into looking like its owner. The yōki swirled around the _corporal_ form of Sesshōmaru in front of me and seemed to be seeking out towards me. Then _he_ took a step forward, quickly followed by another step, until he was standing right in front of the invisible barrier, which was my mental glass bell.

"How long did you plan on staying in here?" he then asked when he stopped up right in front of the barrier and stared at my petrified mental body.

I didn't have a straight answer for him because I hadn't figured out how to handle him yet. I didn't know how long it would take me to be ready to face him again, but I knew that I wasn't ready yet.

"While you've kept yourself in here, your body haven't eaten a single bite. Are you going to let your body wither away?"

No words would come out of my mouth.

_Of course, I wouldn't let myself wither away!_

He lifted his right hand up and rested it against the invisible glass. The glass began to vibrate with the power of his yōki, threatening to break under the pressure of it.

"Only a coward would be doing as you're doing!" he said pointedly and channeled more of his yōki against the glass.

The glass began to crack under his powerful yōki, and I could feel myself panic at the imminent result of his yōki's attack. He would break my mental barrier.

"I'm not a coward!" I exclaimed heatedly and got up from my seated position.

Though I finally found my voice to speak, I knew the words that I had spoken rang falsely. I did feel like a coward because I wasn't ready to face him.

More cracks emerged in the barrier, making it visible to the naked eye. His brows furrowed as he clearly put a lot of his yōki into breaking my mental shield. I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would break through, and I didn't know what would happen when he did.

"Then why are you hiding?" he asked icily, anger shimmering in his spoken question.

_I'm not ready to face you!_ I thought fearfully.

The sound of glass cracking and breaking rung in my ears. The cracks in the glass bell spread out, until it was all covered in cracks of different sizes. The glass then shook, trying to resist the powerful force of his yōki. And then my mental barrier, formed as a glass bell, broke. The glass turned to dust by his forceful yōkai aura and I soon felt completely enveloped by its magnitude. The glass had dampened how powerful his yōki really was, and I gasped at the sensation of it. It enveloped me completely, stealing my ability to breathe. I clung my hands to my chest and tried to quietened my erratic beating heart.

_He_ then began to walk over to me, stepping over the remaining dust of my glass bell. When _he_ was right in front of me, he stopped up and stared deeply into my green eyes.

"It's time to come back to the real world!" he said coldly and reached out after me.

As soon as his right hand touched the back of my head, immense pain sprouted inside of me. I closed my eyes and screamed out in agony of the piercing pain I felt. Then I felt his yōki envelope my whole being, and I felt my surroundings turn around me like looking into a kaleidoscope.

~oOo~

When I opened my eyes again, I was caught by the intense stare of his golden eyes. I knew that I was back in the real world. Though I wish that I wasn't. His yōkai aura slowly diminished until it was almost completely hidden. My sight became blurred and I knew that I was crying; the salty tears were stinging against my heated cheeks. Why had he forced me out when I wasn't ready to face him?

My head hurt like hell, which wasn't a surprise when I had just been forcefully ripped back to reality.

I couldn't look away from his unreadable golden eyes. I wanted to be as far away from him as I could possibly be, but his eyes kept me in the place I was in. His hand shifted away from the back of my head, and then rested gently against my left cheek. He used his thumb to dry away the tears that stained my cheek. His hand was warm and comforting, and I couldn't resist leaning against his big hand and seeking out the ease it gave me. But it was short-lived.

When I found my senses, I tore my head away from his hand, as though his mere touch burned me. It hurt to repel his touch, but I had to. I was so confused by him and I didn't know what to make of him. I needed space between us, so that I could think more clearly and maybe figure out his intensions.

"I don't want to be here!" I bit out between clenched teeth and closed my eyes.

I could hear the shuffling of fabric and knew that he had let his arm fall back to his side. I could feel the intensity of his eyes on my face, but I kept my eyes closed, keeping my resolve of not looking at him.

"I want to go back to Kagome!" I exclaimed fiercely.

But my statement seemed to make my heart hurt. It felt like someone was stabbing a knife into it. I felt my heart bleed with my statement, but I couldn't understand why it hurt so much.

"Is that what you want?" he asked me coldly.

His question surprised me, and I hastily opened my eyes and looked into his eyes. They were unreadable yet again. What was he thinking?

"Yes," I whispered, feeling breathless by his unreadable golden eyes.

Silence stretched out between us, and I wondered what Sesshōmaru would do: would he let me go back to Kagome, or would he deny my wish?

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**A/N: And that's it for this chapter. What do you think Sesshōmaru will end up doing?**

**I can't give you any spoilers, so you have to wait for the next installment. I'm ending this A/N on a short note: I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, have a great week, and I'll be back next Sunday with another chapter. Ciao!**


	18. Chapter 18 - Reunion

**A/N: Konnichiwa, my lovely readers. It's Sunday, and that means a whole new chapter for you guys. First off, a big thanks to HollowYang, LokiIsMyGod12, Dreamhare, Juweria, alym1672, wolfe-kid, and Gray Bow-Tie for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam. Next, another big thanks to Kagz419 and Yakitori-Chan for leaving a review, your words of praise and your thoughts are highly appreciated. Also, a big thanks to all of you who has my story on their Alert-list and to everyone for spending their time reading my story. Arigatō gozaimasu.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Anyways, let the show continue:**

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**Chapter 18 – Reunion**

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The silence kept stretching on and I feared that he would deny my wish. We kept staring into each other's eyes, green meeting gold. But no words were spoken in between us after I had answered his question. Yes, I wanted to go back to Kagome and get some space to figure out what to do about him. He was so hard to read. Actually, he was completely unreadable. I didn't have any clue of what he was thinking or what he wanted from me.

"I see," was all he said.

He turned around and began to walk away from me. I could only stand there with my newly washed linen in hand, and glance at his retreating form. Was he letting me go?

I didn't understand him at all. Was this it? Was this his goodbye? Was he just leaving me behind to fend for myself and try find Kagome and the rest of them on my own?

He couldn't be that cold-hearted … could he?

I just stood there and was completely astounded with his behavior. He had forced me out of my mental barrier, only to just leave me behind. It didn't make sense in my mind. And it hurt me that he would just leave me here. Didn't I mean something to him?

I didn't know how long I stood there, holding my wet linen in hand, but when I saw Sesshōmaru come back, I felt relieved to see him. But then I felt confused again, because he was guiding the dragon yōkai through the foliage and over to me. When Sesshōmaru was right in front of me, he handed me the harness to the dragon yōkai, which I took a hold of, though I was still extremely confused of why he had the dragon yōkai with him.

"He'll take you to them," Sesshōmaru said emotionlessly while he stepped away from the dragon and me.

He was lending me the dragon so that I would be able to reunite with Kagome. I felt touched by his unexpected kindness; though I didn't know what I expected from Sesshōmaru.

"Thank you," I whispered and hastily mounted the dragon.

My sack and ōdachi were already on the saddle of the dragon, so the only thing not packed was the wet linen I had in my hand. I quickly stuffed the wet cloth into my sack, not really caring if the rest of my things got wet in the progress. Then I righted myself and grabbed a secure hold of the harness, ready to take flight. But before I let the dragon take off, I glanced back at Sesshōmaru who was staring intently at me with his golden eyes unreadable once more.

"We will meet again."

His words of goodbye made me blush, and I didn't know exactly why his words made me react so. But I felt warm inside at hearing those words; it felt like a promise. I could only nod to him as my response to his goodbye. Then I tore my eyes away from him and let the dragon take us to the sky.

My hands wrapped painfully around the harness as we soared higher. Me leaving Sesshōmaru made my heart throb painfully. Why was I reacting this way?

I chanced a glance over my shoulder, to see if Sesshōmaru was still there to see me off.

He was. Though I couldn't see him clearly, I knew that his golden eyes were following our disappearing forms. My heart skipped a beat at seeing him stand there.

When I couldn't see him anymore, I let my gaze shift back to looking ahead, seeing the blue sky dotted with small white clouds. He had actually let me go. Let me leave his side to join with Kagome once more. Why did he let me leave him?

He was an enigma that I was unable to solve. I couldn't figure him out. I was more than certain of that he would have forced me to stay with him. Yet here I was, up in the sky on a dragon's back, and on my way to rejoin Kagome and the rest. I could feel tears run down my cheeks. Why was I crying? And why did the pain in my heart increase as the distance between me and Sesshōmaru grew?

My heart kept throbbing painfully in my chest, which baffled me. I was finally going to be with Kagome again, yet my heart wasn't in it. I shook my head from side to side, trying to shake the unpleasant feeling off of me. I should be happy that I was on my way to be reunited with Kagome. Yet it seemed like my heart yearned for something else.

~oOo~

The sun had almost set when I felt InuYasha's yōki. They weren't far from where we were now, and I guided the dragon to the ground. We landed and I got off of the dragon's back, then grabbed my stuff. I stuck my ōdachi into the back of my obi and slung my sack over my shoulder. When I was set, I faced the dragon's two heads. They seemed sad when both pair of its yellow eyes glanced at me. My hands sought each a head to place them on, both landing on its snouts.

"It's alright … you haven't seen the last of me," I said gently to it.

Both heads huffed a breath of air, like it was sighing. Then they both closed their eyes while I petted its muzzles. I could feel InuYasha's approaching yōki and knew that he was headed towards me.

"It's time to go, before InuYasha and the rest of them arrives. They are on their way."

I let go of the heads and it opened its yellow eyes and looked worriedly at me.

"Don't worry, I'll be alright," I said and stepped away from the dragon, "Now go."

Both heads nodded and took to the sky. I waved at it and was already missing the gentle creature.

"You take care now; don't let Jaken pester you too much," I yelled at its retreating form.

It roared in acknowledgment and then disappeared behind an orange-hued cloud.

The sky was painted in orange, pink and purple, looking like a painting taken out of a fairy tale. I already missed the dragon, but I was quickly pulled out of my musings when the leaves of a bush behind me rustled incessantly. I knew that it was InuYasha – his yōki told him off.

I turned around and faced the hanyō just as he emerged from the foliage.

"Wait up, InuYasha," I heard a female voice yell from the same place that InuYasha had just emerged from.

And I knew that voice. It was Kagome. I could feel the hanyō stare at me, but my focus was on the emerging Kagome in the bush.

"Why did you run off like that, InuYasha?" Kagome asked him as she stumbled out of the foliage.

I waited with bated breath for Kagome to spot me. And when she did, I could see the surprise in her brown eyes.

"Aiko-chan?" she asked me, seemingly unsure of if it really was me.

I gave her one of my carefree smiles, which she responded to with one of her excited smiles.

"It is you!" she exclaimed happily and ran towards me.

She passed by InuYasha, clearly ignoring his existence while she ran full force into me. Her arms wrapped possessively around me, and I mimicked her gesture. I hugged her fiercely as it felt like a dream to be in her presence again.

"I've missed you," I whispered into her black hair.

Tears prickled under my closed eye lids, begging to be released. I felt relief overwhelm me and I was ecstatic by being reunited with her again. I didn't hold the tears back, and soon I found myself sobbing. It felt like eons ago that I last saw Kagome. I felt my knees weaken and soon found them connected to the grassy ground beneath me. Kagome followed me down to the ground and hugged me protectively in her arms.

"Aiko-chan?" she whispered worriedly.

And I knew why she was worried; I had only once broken down like this in front of her.

"You are not hurt, are you?" she asked me with concern.

I couldn't form the words with my mouth, so I just shook my head from side to side. More than hearing it, I felt her sigh with relief.

I didn't want to let go of her because I feared that if I let go of her, she would disappear right in front of me. It felt like I was in a dream. And I didn't want it to turn into a nightmare.

Kagome gently petted my head and shushed at me comfortingly. And I soon found myself calm enough to face her. I slowly pulled myself away from her embrace and glanced into her warm brown eyes. She was smiling warmly at me and seemed equally as relieved to see me alive and well as I was to see her. Tears were gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"I can't believe that I'm here with you," I said with a gruffy voice while I dried my tearstained cheeks.

"But you are, and I'm so happy to see you," Kagome exclaimed and hugged me again.

I hugged her back, but this time it wasn't a desperate hug. It was a warm hug, filled with relief and love. I sighed contentedly into her hair and glanced up over Kagome's head. I could see  
InuYasha staring at me with a serious look. Then I spotted the little yōkai kid on InuYasha's right shoulder and the monk standing right next to him. They looked confused with what was happening. Right, they had gotten extra company while I was Sesshōmaru's hostage. I let go of Kagome and shifted my gaze between the monk and the kid.

"So … who are these guys?" I asked while I kept my eyes on them.

The kid sprang off of InuYasha's shoulder and ran quickly over to Kagome and me. He stopped up when he was right next to Kagome and glanced at me. Then he sniffed the air and looked confusedly at me.

"You smell weird," he said in a childish manner.

"Shippō-bō! Don't say stuff like that!" Kagome exclaimed, reprimanding the little yōkai.

I ignored Kagome's reprimand to the little kid, who I now knew was called Shippō, and asked: "Is that so? What do I smell like?"

Shippō looked from Kagome to me and back again multiple times, seeming uncertain of rather he should answer my question or not.

But before I could get an answer, InuYasha and the monk joined us. InuYasha stood on Kagome's left side and the hōshi kneeled down to my left. He then grabbed a hold of my left hand, and literally begged my eyes to look into his. His eyes were indigo and seemed to shine with determination.

"My name is Miroku, and I must say that you carry a strange beauty. Yet you're indeed beautiful and thus I must ask of you…"

I glanced warily at him, uncertain of where this was going.

Then he proceeded with his question: "Would you consider bearing my child?"

I was completely stunned by his question. What the heck was he thinking?

"What kind of question is that?! You don't even know me!" I exclaimed crossly and pulled my left hand out of his grip.

Then without thinking, I used said hand and slapped him across his right cheek. Five red fingers matching the size of my own fingers sprouted on his cheek, which he touched gently.

"I guess that's a no," he muttered to himself and sighed deeply, while he closed his eyes.

"Miroku-san, you should know better!" Shippō said in a dead-panned manner.

I hastily got up from the ground and moved away from the hōshi. I didn't want to be near him at that moment. Kagome got up as well and grabbed a hold of my hand.

"Come on, let's get back to our camp, then we can talk," she said excitedly and began to drag me after her.

I let her, until I heard InuYasha sniff the air as well. Stopping up, I glanced back at him as his eyes narrowed at me.

"You smell different," he said in an aggressive manner.

Before I could say anything to it, I felt Kagome clench my hand a bit too tightly. Then I heard her exclaim in a warning tone.

"InuYasha!"

I could see the hanyō freezing up on the spot with the warning in Kagome's tone: "Wait, Kagome … don't," he said exasperatedly, clearly fearing something to happen.

She clearly ignored him as she uttered: "SIT BOY!"

Just as she said it, he was forced to the grassy ground. A loud *BAM* sounded from the impact of InuYasha kissing the ground. I could only stare helplessly at his incapacitated form, until Kagome dragged me after her once more. She pulled me in through the foliage that she had emerged from, and I followed after her without any fuss.

~oOo~

"So, let me get this straight," I said in a slow manner while I tried to keep up with the information that Kagome had given me, "Kikyō is walking amongst the living … Naraku was once a bandit called Onigumo, who wanted Kikyō and was the one that got Kikyō killed and InuYasha sealed to a tree? And now he is after the Shikon Jewel shards as well?"

Kagome nodded as I got everything I stated right. We were all sitting around the small campfire; Kagome, InuYasha, Miroku, Shippō, and myself. My focus was on Kagome while I tried to summarize what had happened to Kagome and the rest while I was Sesshōmaru's abductee.

I then continued on: "And you met little Shippō-bō, helping him defeat the Thunder Brothers to avenge his otō-san's death?" I asked and pointed at Shippō.

My eyes shifted over shortly to the little kitsune, who nodded in agreement to my questioning statement.

My focus then shifted over to the hōshi, who was sitting in the lotus position with his eyes closed: "And you met Miroku-sama, when he tried to steal the shards from you? And he is cursed with the Kazaana in his right hand by Naraku? Though it was his jī-san that got the original curse, so he inherited it from his jī-san?"

I kept my finger pointed towards the monk, until I had asked the last question. When my eyes shifted back to Kagome, she was still nodding to everything I said: "Yep, seems to be all that's happened since you've been gone."

"Wow, talk about action … it seems like it has been nothing but action that's happened while I was Sesshōmaru's hostage…" I said with surprise.

When I was with Sesshōmaru, there had been some action as well, but not nearly as much as what Kagome had experienced in the same span of time. There had been a lot more drama, which I wouldn't be discussing in front of Miroku, InuYasha, or Shippō. I may consider telling Kagome when I had her alone for a moment.

"Speaking of Sesshōmaru's hostage …" InuYasha said loudly, and I shifted my attention over to him: "How are you here in the first place? It's not like Sesshōmaru to let go of his possessions!"

InuYasha glared at me seriously, his golden eyes narrowed as he awaited my answer. This guy really didn't have any tact at all.

"First of all," I said pointedly, "I was _never_ his _possession_, as you are referring to! I'm not an object to have ownership of!" I held a single finger in the air while I counted my statements.

Then I held up a second finger: "Second, he let me go … and before you say more; I don't know why exactly he let me go!"

InuYasha crossed his arms up in front of his chest: "It doesn't make sense for Sesshōmaru to let you go just like that! He seemed more than possessive of you the last time we saw you."

I sighed heavily as I remembered the fight where Sesshōmaru had shown off Tessaiga's yōki-infused attack. He had been quite possessive of me; having a tight hold of me with his fur during most of the confrontation between him and InuYasha. Thinking back on the happenstance, I remembered Miroku tried to suck us up into his Kazaana.

"Miroku-sama," I said, ignoring InuYasha's previous statement, "Were you going to suck me into your Kazaana during that battle?"

The hōshi glanced up at me, and seemed puzzled at first, but then he averted his eyes and grabbed a hold of his chin, looking like one who was thinking deeply.

"I would have, if it weren't for Kagome-sama's words when we were staying out of the battle."

This puzzled me: he would have been willing to kill me if it weren't for Kagome's words. What words? And why would he had done so, if not for those words?

Before I could ask him, he continued: "I had assumed that you were an ally of Sesshōmaru, when I first saw you upon that oni's shoulder. I sensed that you had a yōki and thought that you were some sort of yōkai yourself. Though you don't look like a yōkai."

So, he was able to feel my yōki. Not a surprise since he was a monk and all. But to conclude that I was an enemy, with so little to back it up, stung a bit.

Miroku then continued his little tale: "If Kagome-sama hadn't told me that you had been kidnapped by Sesshōmaru and that you were a friend of hers. If you hadn't been protected by Sesshōmaru and if you had been sucked towards my Kazaana, I wouldn't had closed my hand in time for you to not be sucked into it."

It was hard to hear his words. I guess I owed Kagome and Sesshōmaru my life for that.

"I see …" I said monotonously, "I guess I owe you a thanks for not sucking me up into your Kazaana … and to Kagome-chan too."

I glanced at Kagome, who gave me a soft smile and grabbed a hold of my left hand.

Then Kagome seemed anxious as she spoke: "There's something I don't get here …" she said and glanced over at Miroku, "… you said that Aiko-chan had a yōki, and you thought that she was some sort of yōkai?"

Miroku nodded to Kagome's question, and Kagome turned her attention back to me, "But how's that possible when Aiko-chan is a human?"

I hadn't had the time to tell about my _adventure_ while being separated from Kagome, so I hadn't had a chance to tell her – or the others – that I wasn't purely human.

I sighed and turned my gaze away from Kagome, looking down at my lap: "That's because I'm not a human."

Kagome gasped in shock like she hadn't been prepared for that statement.

"To make a long story short; I had no idea of me having a yōki or having yōkai blood. I only found out recently that both my parents were descendants of powerful yōkai bloodlines, and I have inherited their blood."

"You mean that your otō-san wasn't your biological …?" Kagome asked, but I interrupted her quickly: "I wasn't adopted. My parents were indeed my parents. They just never told me about my heritage."

Silence filled the camp, with the exception of the crackling of fire and the songs of grasshoppers. I guess it was a lot to take in for the others as well. I glanced around at them all. Kagome seemed surprised and somewhat sad. InuYasha sat in the lotus position with his eyes closed and his Tessaiga in his arms. Miroku looked like one who was in deep thought, with his hand cupping his chin and his indigo eyes staring intently into the fire. And Shippō looked almost like Kagome: surprised and somewhat sad.

I chose to break the silence by telling them some more: "I discovered my yōkai blood the first time when I was fighting a spider yōkai. I had been cornered at a cliff by this spider yōkai and had no other option but to fight it. That's when Gin chose to step in, and she took control over my body and killed the spider yōkai with one swing."

"Who's Gin?" InuYasha asked me confusedly.

"Gin is my yōkai blood from my otō-san's side of the family," I said matter-of-factly, and was about to continue my story, when InuYasha interrupted me: "Where was Sesshōmaru?"

I sighed at his question: "To make it short, I had had an argument with Sesshōmaru, and he had left our group for a while. I had gone out to search for him, but before I had been able to find him, the spider yōkai had attacked me."

This time, Miroku had a question: "How come you're referring to your yōkai blood like it's a person itself?"

Another sigh left my lips: "Because that's how I see her … we don't know exactly why I see her as a person and not as another part of me. Gin says it may have something to do with me not being ready to accept my heritage just yet."

"I see," Miroku said and sat back into his previous position: his hand cupping his chin and with a faraway look in his indigo eyes.

"But Aiko-chan," Kagome then asked, and I shifted my gaze over to her: "If this Gin is your yōkai blood from your otō-san's side of the family, then what about your okā-san's? You said that you had inherited yōkai blood from both your parents."

I felt myself go a bit gloomy; I didn't have any knowledge about my yōkai blood from my mother's side of the family.

"I don't know about her bloodline. I know that Gin is an inu yōkai, but my okā-san's is a mystery. All that Gin told me was that her blood was sealed away deep inside of me. And Gin refers to that blood as an _it_, though I don't know what _it_ is."

It was really weary to think about my heritage when I didn't have all of the answers yet. Especially with my mother's bloodline. Gin didn't have the answers, and I didn't know where to find them. It was not like I could ask any of them about her bloodline since she wasn't even from Japan. She was from a whole other continent.

"And I don't know how to get any answers about my okā-san's bloodline, because she is from another country," I said defeatedly and pulled my knees up to my chest, with my arms leaning on top of my knees.

"Your okā-san's not Japanese?" Miroku asked me curiously.

"No," I said, "She's from somewhere far up north. I don't expect you to know of Hokuō."

Miroku shook his head from side to side a single time: "I can't say I've heard of this Ho-ku-ō… It's an unfamiliar term for me."

"Tch," InuYasha scuffed, "Who cares about where her okā-san is from? A yōkai is a yōkai no matter where they're from."

I glanced over at InuYasha, but I didn't have the energy to take up the discussion with him of whether that may be true or not.

But Miroku had another thought to InuYasha's statement: "I wouldn't be so sure about that, InuYasha. For all we know, _yōkai_ can mean something else entirely in this … Hokuō … we can't conclude that the term is the same there as here."

I could see Miroku's point, but it felt like I was trying to uncover the greatest mystery of the universe if I added his statement into the equation. I sighed heavily, feeling really blue with the subject we were on.

As if Shippō could feel my hopelessness, he jumped up on my shoulder and said comfortingly: "Don't think too heavily about it Aiko-chan. We'll figure it out on the way."

I couldn't help the gentle smile that grazed my lips. My eyes shifted over to my right shoulder to look at the little kitsune. His green eyes sparkled with the reflection of the fire from our little campfire.

"Thanks, Shippō-bō," I said gently and rested a hand on top of his auburn hair.

He gave me a happy smile and closed his eyes. I petted his auburn hair and felt comforted with the motion.

"Now, Aiko-chan," Kagome said enthusiastically and clapped her hands together: "I must know what else you've been experiencing."

I stopped petting Shippō's head and glanced at Kagome with a sideways glance: "Well … it's not been as action-packed as your experience," I said in a thoughtful manner.

My mind went over my period traveling with Sesshōmaru, and most of it has been drama and extremely embarrassing stuff that I didn't want to talk about while the others were here.

"Let's see… not much really," I said in a slow manner: "We travelled for the most part. There was once this oni that Sesshōmaru destroyed with a single swipe of his poisonous claws… then there was our hunt for a suitable arm that Sesshōmaru could use, which led us to Naraku giving him the human arm imbedded with a jewel shard … but Naraku tried to trick Sesshōmaru with that arm. Naraku had put some kind of spell on it, so that the arm would try to engulf Sesshōmaru's body. Which, of course, Sesshōmaru wasn't happy about… he tried to kill Naraku, but he escaped in the last moment."

Silence filled the campsite yet again while I tried to think of what else had happened that wasn't too embarrassing to talk about. I then remembered the first time I met the dragon yōkai.

"Then there was that time a two-headed dragon crashed into our camp…"

"WHAT?!" they all exclaimed when I mentioned the two-headed dragon yōkai.

"Yeah, turned out to be a lost companion of Sesshōmaru's. And the dragon was badly injured. It had gotten a spear in its hind leg, which I pulled out of it…" _with the help of Sesshōmaru_, "… and mended its wound."

I paused for a few seconds and glanced around at the others, whom all held a flabbergasted expression on their faces.

"Oh, don't worry… he's really adorable when you get to know him. Besides, he wouldn't hurt a fly; he's an herbivore."

They all seemed to sigh a bit with relief, but they didn't seem very happy about knowing that Sesshōmaru had a dragon by its side.

"But nothing else really happened in my time with Sesshōmaru," I said and glanced at Kagome.

She had a look in her eyes that told me she knew that I was keeping some of the things that had happened to myself. I knew she would see right through me, and I sent her a look that told her to wait until another time to ask me what else had occurred.

She sent me a smirk which I knew meant that she would indeed ask me what else had transpired.

"Anyways, I think we should get some rest," Miroku then said as he lied down, until he was comfortable on the ground.

The others did the same, though Kagome had already prepared a sleeping bag for herself, which she got in to with Shippō lying down at the top of her head. InuYasha glanced a few more seconds at me before he himself lied down on the ground as well, hugging his Tessaiga to his chest.

I let out a sigh and prepared to get some sleep as well. I pulled my sword out of my obi and lied down on my back. Using my sack as a pillow, I glanced up at the starlit sky, finding it beautiful as always.

I couldn't help but wonder where Sesshōmaru was right now. Was he staring at the sky like I was?

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**A/N: And that's it for this time. I know that it wasn't action packed like the many previous chapters, but it was a necessary one.**

**I hereby give a virtual cookie to Yakitori-Chan, for guessing correctly on what Sesshōmaru would do with Aiko (he let her go!) So, a big round of applause for her brilliant mind.**

**Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of this chapter. How was the reunion?**

**As always, I bid you adieu until next Sunday, where my next chapter of this story will be uploaded. Stay safe and have a great week.**


	19. Chapter 19 - Girl-time

**A/N: Konnichiwa minna, how's your week been? Another Sunday means another chapter. But first off, all my everlasting gratitude and thank-you's:**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter:**

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**Chapter 19 – Girl-time**

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I didn't get much sleep. All night, I tossed and turned, and was simply unable to find a good position to fall asleep in. It just felt uncomfortable lying on the ground, though I had done that most of the time when I traveled with Sesshōmaru. So, why was it so hard to do it now?

I felt exhausted with the little to no sleep I had gotten. If I was lucky, I had maybe gotten an hour of sleep. At most two hours.

Kagome looked at me with worried eyes, and I figured that I looked like hell. I probably had bags under my eyes; It felt like I had bags under my eyes.

"You couldn't fall asleep?" Kagome asked me, looking fresh and well-rested.

I just shook my head in a negative.

"Hmm, did you have trouble sleeping while you were traveling with Sesshōmaru?" she asked me, while she prepared some instant ramens for us as breakfast.

Again, I shook my head in a negative: "I slept fine while traveling with Sesshōmaru…" I said tiredly.

_Especially when I slept in his arms_, my tired mind added in an afterthought.

Not much was said afterwards, and we ate in silence once the ramens were done. I couldn't find the appetite to eat it though. Seeing InuYasha wolf his down almost instantly, I handed him my portion, which he took without a second thought.

I could feel the monk's eyes on me, but he didn't say a word. I chose to ignore his stare and chose to study InuYasha instead. He didn't have any table manners as he literally inhaled the ramen. I guessed that he really liked it.

When we were done eating, we packed the camp and headed out. Kagome dragged her bicycle beside her, with Shippō sitting in the basket attached to the handles. Miroku and InuYasha walked in the front, and I took the rear, with Kagome and Shippō being in the middle of our little group. I could hear Miroku and InuYasha discussing something, but I didn't pay much attention to their conversation. Kagome and Shippō were talking with each other as well.

I didn't know why, but I felt sort of out of place with this group. Which didn't make sense since Kagome and I had known each other for over ten years. Why did I have this feeling that something was amiss? Like something that should have been here was not?

"Aiko-chan?" I heard Kagome say from my right.

I glanced at her with surprise because I hadn't noticed that she had pulled back to walk beside me.

"Are you alright?" she then asked me.

"Hn, I'm fine … just tired," I said with a weak voice, sighing heavily with weariness.

"Doesn't look like it's only that," Kagome said worriedly, "I've known you for a long time, and I know that something is on your mind …"

I couldn't help but stop up and stare into her brown eyes. Of course, she would be able to pick up my mood like she was reading an open book.

"I don't feel like talking about it," I said and glanced over at Miroku and InuYasha, who had stopped up to see what was holding us up.

As if Kagome knew that I wouldn't talk about it unless it was just her and me, she yelled to InuYasha: "InuYasha, is there any hot springs nearby?"

Even though there was some distance in between us, I could see InuYasha lift an eyebrow questionably: "We don't have time for a stop now! We've only just begun traveling for the day!"

"Just answer my question, InuYasha!" Kagome yelled annoyedly back at InuYasha.

"Why do you need to know if we aren't going to stop?!" InuYasha yelled back at Kagome with visible irritation.

"None of your business, InuYasha! If there is a hot spring nearby, then we are gonna make time for a stop!"

"We don't have time for this, Kagome! Unless you want Naraku to find all the shards before us, we are continuing our journey! You'll have to wait for tonight to soak up in hot water!"

He turned around, showing off with his body language that their discussion was over. Then he began to walk onwards the path we had followed.

"InuYasha!" Kagome yelled back at InuYasha; a warning imbedded in her tone.

InuYasha almost froze on the spot like he was panicking. And I knew why. Because in the next second, Kagome yelled her famous command.

"SIT BOY!"

_*BAM*_

In the same instance as those words were spoken, InuYasha made a giant crater in the path we were walking on with his body. Those prayer-beads were indeed powerful when Kagome was around.

Miroku glanced unsurprised at the incapacitated InuYasha like he was used to the happenstance. I, on the other hand, was still not used to it and winced in sympathy for the poor guy. I was immensely glad that it wasn't me in his stead.

Suddenly, the smell of hot water came to my nose, and I thought it weird that I could smell hot water. Then I felt it even weirder that hot water had a scent at all. It was hard to explain, but I felt my nose vibrate as I took in the scent. The scent came from within the forest on our right.

"I think there's a hot spring that way," I said and pointed in the direction I could smell the scent from.

"Oh," Kagome exclaimed surprised that I knew where there was a hot spring: "Then let's go."

She guided her bicycle in the direction that I had pointed out, and I followed behind her. As we got further into the forest, I guided Kagome verbally when she was off-course towards the hot spring.

We walked for approximately another half an hour, until we came to a clearing. I stopped up, and so did Kagome like she sensed that I had stopped up.

"About a quarter of a mile from here is a hot spring," I said and looked at Kagome.

She placed the bicycle up against a tree and Shippō jumped out of the basket and up on Kagome's shoulder. I registered Miroku standing at the edge of the clearing, clearly waiting for something to happen. InuYasha was nowhere to be seen, but I could feel his yōki somewhere in the distance, following our trail to the clearing we were now standing in.

"Perfect," Kagome said and began to rummage through her ginormous yellow backpack.

She exclaimed happily when she had found the items she needed, and then ran over to me. She grabbed a hold of my hand and began to drag me along in the direction of the hot spring. But she quickly stopped up as if something had come to her mind.

"Shippō, could you stay here with Miroku and make sure that neither Miroku nor InuYasha are peeking in on us?" she asked Shippō sweetly.

The kid seemed almost crestfallen with Kagome's request, like he had wanted to join us in the hot spring as well. I felt almost sorry for the little fox.

"Alright," Shippō said with sadness in his voice, and I almost felt a pang in my chest with how sad he sounded.

Kagome sighed at Shippō's tone then said gently: "It's not like you guys can't take a bath afterwards. I just need some girl-time with Aiko-chan … that's all."

Her words seemed to cheer Shippō up a bit, and he gave her an enthusiastic nod. Then he ran over to Miroku and perched himself on the monk's shoulder. I could see Miroku standing with closed eyes and a small smirk on his lips. Geese, was he a pervert or what?

I was almost certain of what he was thinking about, and it clearly had something to do with Kagome's mention of '_girl-time_'. If it wasn't for Kagome tugging at my hand, I would have run over to Miroku and slapped that lecherous smirk off of his face.

"What a perv," I muttered under my breath while Kagome dragged me in the direction of the hot spring.

"You don't say," she said nonchalantly and led me onwards.

I could only sigh at her words.

We walked for about ten more minutes until we came upon the hot spring. When we was close enough to it, Kagome began to strip out of her clothes. I did so too, and soon we were sitting in the warm waters of the hot spring, soaking in the blissful and calming waters.

"This is so~ good!" Kagome exclaimed with satisfaction.

I hummed in agreement, feeling somewhat peaceful with being able to relax. I felt almost compelled to fall asleep in this spring.

When I felt Kagome's eyes staring intently at me, I looked up and caught her eyes. She was waiting for me to begin my tale; I could easily tell with the curious gleam in her brown eyes.

I sighed silently, then said: "I guess there's no escaping it…?"

"Nope!" she said cheerfully and closed her eyes in mirth, a gentle smile on her lips.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and hugged them in close: "But I don't know where exactly to begin…"

"How about the beginning?" she asked me.

With another sigh, I slowly began my tale. I told her about what happened at our first encounter with Sesshōmaru: how I felt paralyzed by his mere presence. Also, I told her about what happened while the no-faced woman had teleported them to that dead marsh. How he had started to threaten me, but suddenly changed his mind after he had tried to grab Ōginsairensā. Then I told her of my semi-blackout after she had assumedly been killed by Sesshōmaru's poisonous claws: how I had been consumed by rage and the only thing I knew of what happened was the movements of my body – I had no sight under that occurrence.

To this, Kagome spoke up: "Maybe InuYasha could shed some light on that. If you asked him what happened back then?"

"I was planning to do so, but I haven't gotten to it yet. The time hasn't been right…"

"Alright, please continue your story," she then said.

And that is what I did. I told her of when I awoke again that it was right next to Sesshōmaru. I had tried to escape, but he had easily captured me and forced me to stay. Then I told her of when I woke up again, the imp was asleep and Sesshōmaru was nowhere in sight. I had tried to escape again, but he had caught up to me and smashed me into a tree.

She gasped when I told her how he had nearly suffocated me but had stopped himself before I had lost consciousness. Then he had led me back to the cave where Jaken was still asleep, whom Sesshōmaru woke up abruptly by stepping on the toad-like imp. Then there was the whole 'you're-bleeding-situation, where Kagome again gasped when I told her that Sesshōmaru ripped my osode in order for Jaken to take care of the bleeding.

"That was basically my first day with Sesshōmaru," I said as I had summed up my first experience of being Sesshōmaru's hostage.

"It must have been horrific to experience," she said fearfully and scooted closer to me.

She too, was now hugging her knees up in front of her chest and was looking intently at me. Worry shimmering in her brown eyes. I didn't respond to her statement, and only continued my tale: the next thing to happen was the apple tree and the caterpillar that frightened me. I had let go of the tree, only to get caught by Sesshōmaru. When he had found out the _threat_, he had simply let go of me and I had fallen to the ground.

Kagome snickered a bit like she could see it happen; she knew how scared I was of any kinds of insects. And when I thought back on the happenstance, it was kind of funny even though there was a bug involved.

Then I told her of my trip to the hot spring, where I had found Sesshōmaru looking at me when I was done dressing and I told her that I really didn't know if he had seen me naked or not. She furrowed her brows in thought at my statement, but she didn't say a word.

Then I shortly summarized the occurrence of the oni that had attacked us, which she already knew had happened from yesterday's storytelling. But then I came to the embarrassing moment of me getting my period. I told her about how Sesshōmaru had been able to smell the blood, though it hadn't even reached my panties yet. And then I told her how I had preached out what was happening to my body, like I was reading from my biology text book.

"You mean, you told him _all_ about _it_?" she asked me with shock.

"Aha … everything … every single detail! And dear kami, how embarrassing it was!" I exclaimed with newly found humiliation of the old situation.

"Thank the kami that it wasn't me it happened to," she said with relief of it hadn't been her in that situation.

I could only agree with her. But I continued telling her my story and told her how he had taken me to a village, so that I could get some help, which I did. Then I told her about how he had taken care of me, which I had hated and liked; I had hated it because I felt like a helpless little woman who couldn't do a thing, but I had liked it at the same time because he had taken the time to fetch me food. He had been really considerate of my condition.

Then came the happenstance of him seeing me naked while I had taken a bath to wash the sweat and old blood off of me.

"And he didn't even look away! He just stood there and stared at me, taking in my naked body!" I exclaimed with embarrassment over the situation.

"WHAT?!" Kagome exclaimed surprised.

"Yep," I said, popping the 'p'.

"No way?!" she said and clapped her hands against her reddened cheeks.

"Yes way!" I responded against her disbelief.

"What a pervert!" Kagome uttered with pure contempt against his deed.

"That's not the only perverted thing he has done!" I then muttered under my breath and rested my head against my knees.

"WHAT?! Don't tell me he has …" she began and her whole face turned red with embarrassment for me.

"I'll get to it in a second," was my response and I continued my tale.

I quickly summarized the meeting with Naraku and the battle with InuYasha. Then the reencounter with Naraku. Also hurriedly skipping over the death-threat Sesshōmaru had given me, but Kagome caught onto my words.

"He threatened you?!" she said surprised.

"Yeah … but I told him that I would always protect you, even if it meant my life."

At those words, Kagome's eyes began to create salty tears, which gathered in the corners of her eyes.

"Aiko-chan … you shouldn't sacrifice yourself for me like that!" she said with a slightly gruffy voice.

"Of course, I should!" I exclaimed passionately: "You are like a sister to me, and family protect one another!"

Tears rolled gently from her eyes at my words, and she began to sniffle. Then she hugged me and kissed my left temple.

"I see you as a sister, too," she whispered against my dark blond hair and leaned her forehead against my temple she had just kissed.

I felt tears prickle in my eyes at her words and hugged her into my side with my left arm.

"I know," I whispered quietly, but chose to continue my story: "But my words seemed to change him at that moment, like he was caught off-guard. His eyes became distant like he was experiencing an old memory."

She pulled a bit away from me and glanced into my green eyes: "What happened after that?"

"We continued to travel until we reached a clearing. And just as dawn had arisen."

I told her that when I had woken up again, it was in the middle of the night and I had left the clearing to wash my face in the nearby river. I didn't tell her that a nightmare had awoken me; it was unnecessary to worry her about that.

My story continued, and I told her about how Sesshōmaru stood there and watched me. Then I told her that I had walked over to him and touched his right cheek, where InuYasha had slashed Sesshōmaru with his claws. Yet there had been no indication of such a thing had happened. When I had registered how close I was to him, I had moved away. But then he had grabbed my hand and let it rest against his cheek once more. Only to move my hand to his lips, with my fingers ghosting his lips. Then he had touched my lips with his thump and soon after he nuzzled his nose against my cheek.

"Then he tried to kiss me," I muttered and felt my cheeks heat up at the remembrance of the occurrence.

Kagome gasped, but liberally chose not to say a word.

"But we were interrupted when his dragon yōkai came crashing into the clearing we were camping in. I rushed into the clearing, and then I helped the dragon. After that I ventured back to the river to clean the blood away from the used items …"

Which then led to me literally stripping in front of him, because he refused to give me privacy, and I had blood on my osode – and my bra.

"You stripped in front of him!" she exclaimed with utter horrification, her brown eyes almost bulging out of her eye sockets.

"You know me: sometimes I don't think things through. And besides, my clothes were bloodied and needed to be cleaned!"

Continuing my story, I told her how I had ended up naked from the hips and up, and how I had shown him my scarred back. I then told her how he had touched some of the scars, which then led to me telling him about my uncle torturing me.

"Did you tell him about … _that_?" she asked me carefully.

And I knew what she was hinting at: "No. but he knows, but that is later on in my story."

She nodded, though her eyes were sad. She knew how much my past pained me.

"My revelation to him exhausted me, and when I woke up again, it was against Sesshōmaru's kimono-clad chest…"

Her eyes bulged out at my words. She was clearly surprised by me sleeping on Sesshōmaru's chest.

"Then he became … quite _amorous_…" I said slowly, and liberally didn't give her any details of what he did exactly.

"Did he … _you know_," she said, her cheeks red.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" I said hurriedly and waved my hands up in between us in a shielding manner: "I panicked and ran!" I then exclaimed and felt my whole face go red with embarrassment.

"Oh," she said as her only response and gestured for me to continue my tale.

I then told her that he had come to get me. But back in the clearing where we camped until the dragon was well enough to travel again, things had been awkward and filled with tension. I even told her how Jaken had pestered me, trying to make me apologize to Sesshōmaru for what I had done. Which I didn't.

I then told her that Sesshōmaru had left the camp, and I had too, in search of him. But day had turned into night, and I had been forced to camp in a tree, which was where the spider yōkai then attacked me. I told her how I had ended up cornered at a cliff, when my yōkai blood emerged, and Gin had taken care of the spider yōkai.

"Back then, I didn't know that Gin was my yōkai blood, nor that she called herself 'Gin'."

She nodded, completely enraptured by my words, and I continued my story.

I then told her in great detail what transpired after Gin/I had killed the spider yōkai. Sesshōmaru had appeared and Gin held a monologue.

"She literally sold me like a piece of meat the first second, then threatened him the next second!" I exclaimed defeatedly.

Kagome could only stare at me when I told her this, and then I continued to tell her how Sesshōmaru slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and then groped my thigh under the flight back to the clearing. Which her response was to squirm in the water, like she imagined it happened to her.

I then told her how I ended up falling asleep on his chest once more, only to wake up five days later, unable to move.

"Five days?!" she exclaimed with surprise.

"Yes. Apparently I had used too much of my yōki against the spider yōkai, which resulted in my body being completely drained for energy. According to Sesshōmaru that is."

I continued with my story and quickly summarized my discussion with Sesshōmaru after I had headed nature's call, only to be instantly calmed down by his mere scent. To then wake up, once again, sleeping on his chest. Then, without giving too much detail, I told her how he had shown his amorous side again and had brought me to my first climax.

"If it hadn't been for Jaken hollering that I yammered too much and he couldn't sleep, I'm pretty sure that Sesshōmaru would have taken me…" I whispered against my knees.

Silence flittered around in the air for a while, until Kagome broke it with a question I hadn't expected.

"So, how was it like … to get an orgasm?" she whispered her question.

I looked up at her in shock and saw how red her face was. I didn't know how to proceed from there.

"I …" I began but quickly stopped talking.

Kagome glanced at me from the corner of her eyes, her brown eyes shimmering with uncertainty and curiosity. I guess it wouldn't be too awful to tell her how it felt.

"It's hard to describe," I began to say, feeling my cheeks flame up with embarrassment, "But I can say that I hadn't felt anything like it before … it was euphoric, and I felt my body and soul become light as a feather … then a blissful numbness filled my mind…"

"Okay," she whispered and glanced down at the warm water that enveloped us.

Her cheeks were still red, and her eyes had a faraway look in them, like she was thinking heavily on something. I had an idea about what she was thinking about, yet I chose not to say a word and let her think in peace.

Silence filled the air once more, and it felt serene and calm. I couldn't help but sit there and reflect on what I had just told her: I had described to her how I felt when Sesshōmaru had brought me to my climax. And thinking back on it, I really had liked his touch. I found myself missing him. Heartbreakingly missing his presence. His scent. And his touch. The feeling disturbed me because I shouldn't be feeling like that. I shouldn't have those feelings for _him_.

Kagome then spoke up again: "Did anything else happen?"

I felt myself be torn away from my thought, which was a relief yet an annoyance. I glanced at her and nodded my answer to her question.

"There's just a bit more to my tale," I told her and told her the last part of my travels with Sesshōmaru.

I summarized it shortly, telling her how I imprisoned myself in my mind and had my conversation with Gin, where I learned about some of my heritage. Then I told her how I could feel my body moved around and took care of itself and tended to my period. And I included that my body refused to eat, even though Sesshōmaru brought me food. And then I ended my tale with Sesshōmaru pulling me out of my mental imprisonment and then let me go to join her and the rest of them.

She swallowed every word I spoke and seemed surprised by how it ended; with Sesshōmaru allowing me to leave him in order to be with Kagome.

"It's strange that he let you go like that," she said befuddled.

"Yeah, you don't say," I muttered and hugged my knees closer to my chest.

Again, silence filled the space between us while she processed my tale. I sat there and let the silence envelope me without any dilemma. But then I felt my heart ache, which was becoming a nuisance since it had no reason to ache like that. I could tell that my heart ached because it felt like I was missing someone important.

"Aiko-chan?" Kagome asked me suddenly.

I glanced up at her and ignored the pain in my heart. Silently I gave her permission to continue her line of thought.

"Don't take this as an insult or anything … but do you like Sesshōmaru?" she asked me.

"Like?" I asked her confusedly.

"Yes … do you like him, like … _love_ him?"

I felt my heart skip a beat at her insinuation. I couldn't possibly be in _love_ with him.

"Don't be absurd," I said a bit too spiteful, annoyed that she would say such a thing.

"I'm sorry … It's just the way you talk about Sesshōmaru … You have this certain glow whenever you say his name or mention him…"

She reached a hand out towards me, but she let it hover over my shoulder like she didn't know if she should touch me or not.

I didn't know what to say to her statement. Did I _love_ Sesshōmaru?

My heart skipped a beat when I asked myself that question and it seemed to warm up at the thought of him.

"How could I possibly be in love with him when he abducted me and forced me to stay away from you for over a month?" I asked Kagome while I closed my eyes.

My words stung me and made my heart ache with a chilling pain. I didn't want to love him.

"I know, and I'm sorry … I must've misinterpreted you …" she said apologetically and let her hand finally rest against my shoulder.

I glanced at the appendage, then followed it until I reached her face. Her brown eyes were shimmering with sadness, and I knew that she didn't mean to make me angry with her statement. She was simply curious about how I felt.

"It's okay, don't worry about it, Kagome-chan," I said gently and rested my right hand on top of her hand that rested on my shoulder.

Then I sent her a gentle smile, and she mirrored my mimic, giving me one in return.

"Now, I want to know if anything embarrassing has happened to you?" I said and gave her one of my carefree smiles.

Her face became gloomy like she clearly remembered something, but it didn't seem to be an embarrassing event.

"Not embarrassing as much as just annoying … I caught InuYasha kissing Kikyō!" she said with vehemence lacing her words.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed horrified, "You mean that dead priestess that you are a reincarnation of? The one who has a piece of your soul? InuYasha's dead girlfriend?!"

"Aha," she acknowledged and then told me how she had been caught in that situation.

"Uff, I can't believe that guy!" I uttered with slight anger in defense of Kagome's feelings.

She acknowledged my statement, but otherwise didn't say a word.

Thinking back to when Sesshōmaru and InuYasha battled last, I recalled how protective InuYasha had been of Kagome, and actually thought that he liked Kagome. But now I felt uncertain of whether I had read him correctly or not.

"If it wasn't for him kissing Kikyō, I could have sworn that he liked you … but now I must say that I can't tell for sure," I said my thoughts out loud and glanced at Kagome from the corner of my eye.

She blushed with the mention of him liking her.

"What makes you say that?" she asked me with uncertainty.

I turned my head so that I was looking at her fully: "Back when he fought against Sesshōmaru in that village, he was very protective of you, and I thought that he cared about you. But now, I wouldn't be able to say with such certainty. If he kissed Kikyō, then …" I sighed at Kagome's predicament; it must've been hard to like a guy who was in love with another woman: "I don't know, Kagome-chan … I'm not an expert on this kind of topic."

She gave me half a smile, and I got the feeling that she appreciated me trying to help her out. Even though there wasn't much I could do about her situation.

"But anyways," she then said as she stood up, "I think it's time that we headed back to the others."

I agreed and followed her out of the hot spring. She handed me a towel that I could dry myself with. Then we got dressed and headed back to the clearing, where the rest of the group waited for us. InuYasha sat in the lotus position on the ground and was clearly sulking. He quickly shifted his gaze over to us when we emerged from in between a pair of trees.

"Took you long enough!" he sneered annoyedly.

He was clearly not happy about waiting on us. But I didn't care, and I was pretty sure that neither did Kagome; we had needed that girl-talk.

"Let's go!" InuYasha then said while he stood up, ready to leave.

"Hey that's not fair!" Shippō exclaimed disappointedly: "I wanted to have a bath too!"

Kagome immediately stepped into the conversation: "InuYasha, why don't you take a bath with Miroku and Shippō? It would be good for you."

Her voice was gentle when she uttered her opinion.

"We don't have time for that!" InuYasha hollered with irritation and faced Kagome.

"Then make time!" she threw back at him.

This clearly annoyed InuYasha: "Tch, why do you insist on it?!" he yelled at her, seemingly fed up with this detour.

Before Kagome could throw another verbal reprimand, I chose to intervene: "Hey, Kagome-chan? Do you have more of that instant ramen?"

At the mentioning of the instant ramen, InuYasha's dog-ears seemed to perk up: "Ninja food?!"

Kagome sighed exasperatedly: "No, we ate the last this morning."

"Oh, then there went that plan," I muttered to myself.

But InuYasha with his heightened senses clearly heard me: "What plan?!" he said and narrowed his eyes at me.

I turned my attention completely to the hanyō: "I would've made a deal with you … But we don't have my end of the bargain, so it doesn't matter."

This seemed to gain me his full attention: "Spill it out already!"

I sighed silently and then made my proposition: "I would have offered you a portion of ramen, if you went willingly with the others for a bath," I said defeatedly: "But since we're out of ramen, I can't make that deal."

"Damn right," he said confidently, "We're leaving!"

But this time, Kagome spoke up: "InuYasha," she said.

I looked at her and could see that she had a plan on her mind: "I have a proposal …" she said sweetly.

I kept my attention on Kagome and could only guess that InuYasha was doing the same.

She then said her proposal: "If you go take a bath with Shippō and Miroku, I'll make sure that I have twice as much ramen with me the next time I get to go back home."

I glanced at InuYasha and he seemed to be interested in her proposal, but then he crossed his arms in front of his chest and uttered aloofly: "I'll agree if you make it thrice as much ninja food."

My eyes shifted back to Kagome, who seemed to be annoyed with his counteroffer: "You're pushing it, InuYasha! Twice as much is the final deal!"

Then she crossed her arms and turned her side towards InuYasha: "If you don't take the deal, I might be forced to use the s-word on you until you agree!"

I raised an eyebrow at her: "You know that's what people call blackmail, Kagome-chan," I said in a deadpanned manner and crossed my arms in front of my chest.

But when I literally heard InuYasha panic over her using the magic word against him, I quickly looked at him and saw him almost bouncing worriedly on the spot.

"Alright, I agree! Just don't use that word on me, got it?!" he yelled with panic.

_Damn, she can be so cruel when she wants to be_, I thought as her plan had been a success.

Shippō cheered with the prospect of getting his bath, and quickly darted of in the direction of the hot spring. Miroku was fast on the kitsune's tail, which left InuYasha in the clearing with us. He muttered something under his breath and sluggishly sauntered in the direction of the hot spring as well, leaving Kagome and I in the clearing.

Kagome chuckled a bit to herself, and I couldn't help but smile at the whole occurrence that had just transpired. She really knew how to handle that hanyō.

~oOo~

When the guys were done with their bath, we continued onwards until the sun began to set. Then we rested up at an old stable-like building. Miroku and Shippō went after some firewood, while InuYasha ran off to fetch us something to eat. Kagome readied her sleeping bag and found her mathematics text book in her backpack.

"You've brought your school books to this place?!" I exclaimed at her with horrification of her using her resting time to study.

"I have to, otherwise I won't pass this upcoming test!" she exclaimed passionately and focused intently on her text book.

I let her be and shifted my gaze up to the sky, seeing its red and orange colors while the sun sunk over the far away horizon. Dear kami, if I came back with Kagome to our rightful time, what would I do about school?

Then the thought of me already being expulsed ran through my mind. I had to hear Kagome about this.

"Sorry to interrupt your study-time," I said and glanced over my shoulder at Kagome.

She looked up from her school book, looking quite annoyed at being interrupted.

I chose to hasten my questions: "I've been gone for a long time … Do you know what people are saying to my absence? Am I expulsed?"

She lifted a finger and thumped it against her chin like she was trying to remember something.

"The rumors say that you've run away, since your uncle is missing…" she said after a while.

This caught my attention: "My uncle is missing?" I said with surprise.

Even though I hated that man, he wasn't the type to just go AWOL. I turned my body towards her, giving her my full attention.

"Yeah, and there's no clue of what had happened to him," she said slowly.

I felt confused: no clues left behind to point out where he might be. It seemed strange.

"But you said that the rumors about me is that I had run away? Why didn't you say anything against it?" I asked her confusedly.

She glanced at me with a befuddled look: "What would you have me say? That you had been kidnapped by a yōkai in the Sengoku Period?! People would think that I had lost my marbles!" she exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Right," I said with a wincing grimace.

"I guess that means no school for me when we get back to our time … thank the Kami," I then muttered satisfied.

Kagome narrowed her gaze at me like she didn't like my attitude towards school.

I had never liked school. The only things I had somewhat liked about school was P.E. and biology. Life was interesting, and I was more the physical kind of girl. I wasn't too happy about sitting quietly and read a book.

Speaking of reading a book, Kagome returned to her book, just as Miroku and Shippō came back with a lot of wood to use for a small campfire. And shortly after, InuYasha came back with a boar slung over his shoulder.

The rest of the evening went somewhat quietly. We ate the boar InuYasha had caught. Or rather, they ate; I didn't really feel hungry. InuYasha and Shippō had fought over the last piece of boar meat, which Shippō ended up getting after Kagome had used 'sit' on InuYasha. She had continued to study her mathematics text book and had ended up falling asleep with the book. The others went to rest shortly after she had fallen asleep. And for the second night in a row, I was unable to find some sleep, feeling like I was missing someone that should have been by my side.

~oOo~

"What?! You're going back to your realm again already?!" InuYasha hollered at Kagome.

We had continued onwards the next day and had wounded up near a river to get some fresh water.

Kagome was facing InuYasha, while Miroku sobbed in the water in order to catch some fish with the help of Shippō. I sat near the small fire we had going and took care of the fishes that we had over the fire.

"I thought you were past that nonsense!" InuYasha almost yelled at Kagome.

Kagome sat and clenched her hands into fists and exclaimed passionately her plight: "But I got a really important mock exam coming up!"

InuYasha stuffed his hands into the sleeves of his suikan and glanced at the fire in clear irritation.

"All I'm asking for is three days to get ready!" Kagome said and intertwined her hands in a pleading manner in front of her chest.

Though I had once again not gotten any sleep and my mind felt exhausted, I chose to butt into their conversation: "I wouldn't mind going back for a while … I could really use some new clothes and some spare changes," I said and gestured to my missing right sleeve of my osode.

My interruption of their conversation only resulted in me getting a glare of pure annoyance from InuYasha, while Kagome sent me a satisfied smile of supporting her plea.

"But we could always visit a village and buy you a new osode, if that is what you wish for Aiko-san," Miroku butted in with his opinion.

I glanced at him and saw that he was glancing over his shoulder at me.

"That wouldn't be the same, Miroku-same. Besides, why waste money when I have spare clothes at Kagome-chan's house?" I said patiently to the monk.

This seemed to deter him somewhat, which was obvious when he turned his attention to Kagome: "But Kagome-sama, what could be worth so much trouble?"

It seemed to me that they didn't want us to leave them and return to our rightful time for a short while, especially with Shippō's comment: "You'll enjoy yourselves a lot more if you stay here forever."

The kid and monk seemed to really like Kagome, which wasn't so strange since she was a really likeable person. Heck, I had been friends with her for over ten years; we practically grew up together. So, it was no wonder that I liked Kagome. But these guys had barely known her for a month and seemed to like her. Kagome was really a people-person.

But their arguments for making Kagome stay didn't stop there, because InuYasha then yelled at Kagome: "Do you love these 'exams' of yours that much?"

Which Kagome responded to with fiery passion: "I hate 'em!"

I sighed and glanced over at them, then remembered what we had promised InuYasha yesterday: "I guess that you don't want your ramens that much then?" I said mockingly to InuYasha.

This clearly caught his attention: "Of course, I want that ninja food!" he yelled passionately at me.

I narrowed my gaze at him and gave him a self-satisfied smirk: "Then we'll have to get back to our time in order to get those ramens."

It looked like I won the debate when he scoffed at my last statement. It would seem that we were going back soon to our time.

Just then, Shippō said confusedly: "Huh? Something is drifting this way."

This caught my attention, and I shifted my gaze back to the river. I narrowed my eyes at the approaching objects, until I registered what they were.

"Those are…" Miroku said with surprise of what we were seeing.

I finished his sentence with a terrible feeling in my gut: "Heads…"

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**A/N: That's it for now. I really hope that you enjoyed it. It was not an easy chapter for me to write; I feel it came out okay, though I think it seems a bit heavy with the conversation between Kagome and Aiko. What do you think of it?**

**Until next Sunday, stay safe and be kind to your surroundings.**


	20. Chapter 20 - In A Peach

**A/N: Howdy, dear readers. It's Sunday and that means a new chapter. But first off, I'd like to thank grace-adalyn, 1997bookworm, XxHeartMenderxX, AlexisHard, and FireChild24 for joining the fave-fam; welcome.**

**Next, a big thanks to Kagz419, grace-adalyn, and Yakitori-Chan for leaving a review; your praises are a god-sent gift and I thank you with all of my heart. And, of course, a big thanks to all of you who has my story on their Alert's, and to everyone who takes the time to read my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Now onwards with the next chapter of this story…:**

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**Chapter 20 – In A Peach**

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"Heads…?" Kagome asked with surprise while the heads flowed closer to where Miroku stood in the small stream.

"A battle upstream, no doubt," Miroku said.

I sat perplexed at Miroku's statement. If there was a battle upstream, then shouldn't there be blood?

"But Miroku-same, shouldn't there be blood if the heads were severed from their shoulders?" I asked and got up from my spot.

Moving closer to the hōshi, he didn't answer my question as he spoke up: "Even so," he said when he pulled one of the heads out of the water, "we must put the souls to r…"

He interrupted himself while he studied the head: "What?! These heads …" he said.

"Wh-what is it…?!" Kagome asked.

From where I stood, I could see that something was off with the head, which Miroku clarified: "There are no marks… no cuts…"

While Miroku got back up on land with the head he had in hand, I went after the other head before it disappeared with the flow. Once caught, I laid it on the ground beside the head Miroku had caught. Then we all sat in a circle around the strange human heads.

"Can they be truly human…?" Miroku asked in a thoughtful manner.

Kagome then came with a theory of what they might be: "Some kind of model, maybe?"

But Miroku quickly interjected to that idea: "I find that hard to believe…"

"Definitely not," InuYasha interrupted Miroku, "These heads have a human scent."

Silence then spread among us at the realization that the heads were indeed human. This was quite a mystery, and I agreed to Miroku's statement that they hadn't been severed from a person. So, the question was not a 'what were they', but rather a 'where had they come from'?

The silence was interrupted by Kagome clapping her hands together once.

"All right," she said determinedly, and I shifted my attention from the heads to Kagome: "We've got to investigate!"

"I agree," I said and got up from my spot, picking up my sack that rested near the fire, "We can't just leave this mystery behind."

"Eh?" InuYasha uttered surprised, "What about the 'mock exam'?"

He was clearly referring to Kagome, so I extinguished the fire while they talked. The fishes were done anyways, so I picked them up by holding on the sticks they were skewered with.

"I won't be able to study anyway with this mystery hanging over my … _um_ … head," Kagome answered InuYasha's question.

Miroku then spoke up: "Well, then. We should go, as long as Kagome-sama is still with us."

I went over to Shippō and handed him one of the fishes, which he eagerly took and began to munch into it. Then I caught up with Kagome and Miroku, who began to follow the river upstream. I gave them one a fish each, which they took while they conversed in between the two of them.

"Probably the work of a yōkai, huh?" Kagome asked Miroku, which he responded to: "Indeed. And it may be utilizing a Shikon shard."

I only nodded to their theorizing. In my hands were two fishes left and I glanced at InuYasha just as he hollered with annoyance.

"Hey! Forgetting me, aren't you?!"

He rushed over to us while we continued onwards.

"Well, quit dragging your feet! We're in a hurry!" Kagome yelled back at InuYasha over her shoulder.

Just as InuYasha caught up with us, Miroku said: "Let's settle this quickly."

I handed InuYasha the last two fishes. He looked at them quizzically then raised an eyebrow at me. I just shook my head, indicating that I wasn't really hungry. He shrugged his shoulders then dug into the both of them while we all went to find the answers to the mystery of the heads.

~oOo~

"What a heavy fog…" Kagome commented as the fog became thicker and thicker.

Miroku then said from the front of our line: "We've climbed quite a while."

I had no idea of how long we had traversed because the fog obscured the surroundings on this mountain and the heavens, making it impossible to discern how high on the sky the sun was. While we continued to traverse, murmurs floated in the air and were at first undiscernible. But as we continued onwards and headed in what seemed like the right direction, the murmurs became clearer.

"Please…"

"Hear us…"

I was on high alert now.

"Eh?" Shippō said with surprise, quickly followed by Kagome saying: "I hear voices…"

My right hand rested on the tsuka of Ōginsairensā, ready to pull it out of its saya, if anything dangerous would appear. I didn't like the voices that floated towards us and became louder as we progressed.

"Please…" another voice could be heard, clearer than before.

We must be close to the origination of the voices. And a few seconds later, the fog seemed to become lighter and revealed a shadow of something big ahead of us. When I was able to see what the shadow was exactly, I could see that it was a big tree.

"Please!"

This time, the voice was so clear that I could tell where the voice came from. It came from the big tree ahead of us. We went straight to the tree where the voice had immitted from, and what I saw creeped me out. Hanging from the branches of the big tree were human heads, which were all pleading to be heard.

"Can you hear?"

"Hello!"

What kind of magic was this?

It did explain where the two heads we had found came from, but now the questions 'why were there heads growing on the tree?' and 'how was this possible?' flittered in my mind.

"Th-there are heads growing on that tree!" Shippō exclaimed with fright.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Shippō was clinging himself to the left shoulder of InuYasha, while Kagome clung herself to InuYasha's right shoulder.

"H-h-h-heads?!" Kagome exclaimed with as much fright as Shippō had just a few seconds ago.

InuYasha was staring at the tree in front of us with alarm. I let my gaze shift back to the tree and studied the faces on the tree. They looked all to be the head of men.

"Let us listen to their tales," Miroku said and hurried over towards the tree.

The rest of us stood from a distance and observed Miroku interact with one of the heads.

"Tell us, please …" Miroku said to one of the heads that resembled an old man, "Who are you? What happened…?"

Miroku sounded sad when he asked the old head, who replied to the hōshi's inquiries: "We were devoured by the old man of the mountain."

_Old man … like a human?_ I thought to myself with apprehension.

"Old… man…?" InuYasha said slowly in a questioning manner, undoubtedly thinking the same as me.

"Not a demon?" Kagome asked equally as confused as the rest of us probably were.

The head continued its tale: "We are all people who tired of this world, who left our homes and hearths … because we had heard that this mountain was a paradise on Earth, tended by an ancient master. We were only food for the hermit called the 'Peach Man'."

I suddenly found myself underneath the tree, glancing at the head of the old man with sadness and attention. What a sad story he had.

"Feh! What a bunch of fools!" InuYasha scoffed at the tale we had just heard, and I glared at him with disappointment of his spoken words: "Taken in by a story like that!"

Before I could retaliate to his uncaring words, Kagome uttered his name with repugnance: "I-InuYasha!"

And just as Kagome had uttered his name, Miroku whacked InuYasha over the head with his staff: "Don't you think they have suffered enough?!"

Satisfied with InuYasha being reprimanded, I turned my attention back to the head of the old man just as Kagome asked for forgiveness on InuYasha's behalf.

"It's all right…" the head said in a low tone.

He was clearly miserable with his fate, and I found myself feel extremely sorry for the old man.

"_Uhh_… Is there any way we can help you?" Kagome asked the old man.

With a dreary tone, the old man answered Kagome's question: "It's too late for us… However, there must be others who have not yet been devoured. If you at least can save them…"

But before he could finish his sentence, the sound of something light hitting against the mountainside rattled, like something had been tossed over the mountainside and was coming down.

"Huh?!" InuYasha uttered while I glanced up towards where the rattling and banging sounds were coming from.

"Something's dropping from above…" I muttered while I watch the _something_ come closer to the ground.

And just as the objects hit the ground, I could see that they were bones.

"EEE~!" Kagome shrieked when she saw the bones.

"Th-they're human bones!" Shippō uttered horrified.

"And still fresh…" Miroku added with a hard tone in his voice.

I could only stare at the bones, unable to find a proper way to react to them. I didn't know if I should be scared that they were from a human, or angry at the one who did this to the person the bones once were.

Then to my disbelief, the roots of the tree stretched out after the bones and wrapped its roots around them. I stared as the roots dragged the bones underneath its big trunk, pulling them into the earth with its roots.

"S-Something's sprouting…" Kagome said with surprise.

I glanced over to her, to follow her line of view, only to see what appeared to be a head sprouting in the tree's branch.

"It's the head of the former owner of those bones…" the head of the old man said, "A head of an enchanted fruit… The heart of the Peach Man's elixir of youth and longevity…"

InuYasha snorted at the old man's comment and said in a hurried manner: "Whatever you call him, he sounds like a demon to me!"

Then he jumped up against the mountainside, up towards the top.

"Wait up!" Kagome exclaimed after InuYasha, while Miroku added in a serious tone: "We should all go together…!"

Clutching a hand around an outcrop of the rocky mountainside, InuYasha glanced over his shoulder down at us: "By the time I lug every one of you up the hill one by one, the sun will have set!"

Then he continued upwards the mountainside, yelling to us while he ascended: "Just wait there!"

"But…" Kagome muttered helplessly.

I looked at my companions confusedly and asked: "What's the sunset got to do with this…?"

They all looked at me, then at each other, clearly debating on whether or not to let me in on something secretive.

But shortly after, Shippō shifted his attention towards me and said: "Tonight's the turning of the cycle."

"The cycle?" I asked puzzled; "Do you mean the moon cycle?"

Shippō nodded at me, but it didn't exactly explain the situation to me; why was it important for this situation?

Apparently Kagome decided to let me in on something important: "On the night of the new moon, InuYasha loses his yōkai powers … and becomes human!"

This caught me by surprise; I had no idea that InuYasha could become human at all, even though it was for one night only. But then anger simmered in my blood. How stupid could he be?

"You're saying to me that InuYasha has until the sun goes down to defeat this 'Peach Man', whom we don't know a shit about?!" I exclaimed with the anger I felt.

Kagome's lips thinned into a grim line, clearly concerned about this situation.

"How stupid _is_ he?!" I sneered in annoyance and glanced up at the mountainside, the top of it shrouded in mist.

"Not the brightest," Miroku said in a deadpanned manner, clearly agreeing to my questioned statement.

"That's why we need to get up there," Kagome added in a hurried manner.

Then she asked: "Shippō, can you get us up there?"

I didn't shift my focus away from the shrouded mountaintop, trying to figure out how to get up there.

"I can't carry all three of us!" Shippō exclaimed exasperatedly, clearly panicking about the dilemma.

_**Just ask me, and I can get you up there.**_

That was Gin talking to me. Inside my mind. I closed my eyes and focused on her, seeing her for my inner eye. Her forest green eyes ablaze with yōki and her yōkai markings standing in sharp contrast to her character.

_Can you get me up there?_ I asked her with my thoughts.

A cocky smile erupted on her lips, smirking at my question.

_**Of course, I can! Just let me out and I'll get you there!**_

I focused on her and let myself be open to her. In the same instance, her yōki ran hot through my veins and filled me with energy. I could feel my nails elongating into claws, my ears grew pointy, and my canines sharpened into sharp and pointed fangs. I opened my eyes and glanced down at my wrists, seeing the telltale forest green stripes on the inner part of them. My body vibrated with newfound energy and I knew what to do next.

"See you on the flipside," I said in a joking manner.

Then I jumped upwards against the mountainside, just like InuYasha had done not many moments ago.

"Wait, Aiko-chan!" I could hear Kagome exclaim after me, but I was more intent on reaching the mountaintop and rescue InuYasha from his own stupidity.

~oOo~

When I reached the top, I could see the golden globe of the sun hanging low on the horizon, the sky painted in warm colors with the descending sun. Time was of the essence and I knew that I had to hurry. Already, I could feel InuYasha's yōki diminish, like he was already in transition. I let his yōki pinpoint me to his whereabouts and entered an abode of some sort. It was dark inside, with only a few torches lighting up the walls and a small portion of the floor, which revealed a staircase that let down underground. With a hand on the tsuka, ready to pull out Ōginsairensā if needed, I soundlessly descended the stairs.

Each passing minute with me walking down the stairs, I could feel InuYasha's yōki grow weaker and weaker, and I feared that I wouldn't find him in time. I had reached the end of the stairs and headed down the hallway that had appeared at its end. I walked for a few minutes, until a bright light could be seen from further up ahead. With stealthy hands, I withdrew my ōdachi from its saya and quietly approached the light, which seemed to come from a room adjacent to the hallway.

When I was right next to the room, I leaned my back up against the wall next to the door opening. From inside I could hear a manly voice speaking, the voice somewhat gruffy and harsh.

"No matter how I look at it, it's just a plain old rusty sword."

Breathing silently, I prepared myself to chance a glance inside the room. Then I looked inside.

Inside, I could see a ginormous fat man with brownish green hair that hung over his face like a wet dog's fur would do. I cringed at the view in front of me and felt appalled with such a grotesque looking man. Was this maybe the 'Peach Man'?

"But when that inu yōkai swung it … it seemed to transform…" he said to himself as he swung a rusty sword with his right hand.

When my eyes landed on the rusty blade, I immediately recognized it as the Tessaiga; InuYasha's sword. But I couldn't sense nor see InuYasha anywhere. Where was he?

The fat man tossed the Tessaiga away from his person, the blade clattering against the floor. Then something caught the fat man's attention. He glanced down at his ginormous stomach like something inside his stomach was acting weird.

"Settle down!" he then yelled at his stomach and gave it a mighty clap, his fatty belly jingling with the motion.

That's when I registered the nearly nonexistent yōki of InuYasha, from inside the man's stomach. _Don't tell me that InuYasha has been eaten?!_ I thought with horror and panic.

Before I could think more about it, the Tessaiga began to rattle on the floor, seemingly become alive on its own accord. My focus was solemnly on the sword, when it rattled on the floor, turning around until the tip of the blade was pointing against the fat man. What was happening here?

Then suddenly, with great velocity, the Tessaiga rushed forward, targeting the fat man's navel. It hit its target, but to my great horrification, the blade bounced off of the blubbery fat stomach and landed soundly on the floor again. It was repelled, like the man's skin was made of rubber.

I made a soundless gasp; how were we gonna defeat this fatty ass of a man if steel couldn't cut through him?!

But my attention went back to the fat man when he made gagging sounds. His hands flew up to his mouth, trying to suppress the action the Tessaiga had set into motion. But it didn't succeed for him.

All the contents of the man's stomach spurted out of his mouth, overflooding the floor with a disgusting pink watery substance, and a black-haired man. The clothes the black-haired man wore looked a hell-of-a lot like InuYasha's.

The fat man lied on his back, almost choking on his vomit, just when the black-haired man grabbed a hold of Tessaiga. And in the next second, the black-haired man charged the fat man, striking Tessaiga down against the fat man's stomach.

"You … **PIG!**" the black-haired man yelled at the fat man just as the sword met the fat man's stomach.

But again, the sword bounced off of the rubbery skin, unable to slice through it. The skin had repelled the attack and the attacker as well, when the black-haired man flew towards a set of stairs inside the room, landing harshly against the lower steps.

The yell the black-haired man did, sounded exactly like InuYasha. I had no doubt in my mind that it was InuYasha that was facing the fat man, even though his black haired threw me off for a second in realizing InuYasha's identity. His yōki was gone, so I was more than certain that InuYasha was human at the moment.

I spurred into motion; I had to help InuYasha before the fat man would harm him. I rushed into the room, Ōginsairensā held in my right hand while I ran towards InuYasha's momentarily stunned body.

"YOU!" the fat man roared at InuYasha.

They hadn't registered me yet, since the fat man was standing with his back towards me, towering over InuYasha's prone form. I could almost feel the evil intentions the fat man had towards InuYasha and knew that I had to act quickly. Running as fast as I could, I headed towards InuYasha, just as the fat man jumped high up in the air. Was he going to do what I think he was about to?

Quickly pushing the question out of my mind, I sprung towards InuYasha, yelling his name in a desperate manner: "INUYASHA!"

I grabbed a hold of InuYasha's red suikan with my left hand and pulled him with me in the motion, just as gravity kicked in on the fat man. He did a belly flop, which would have crushed InuYasha underneath his heavy load if it weren't for my intervention. When the fat man landed on the spot where InuYasha had once been, I could easily hear the steps crumbling underneath his heavy weight. My eyes landed on the fat man when I heard him rustling in his place, shuffling himself up from his failed belly flop.

"What are you doing here?" InuYasha asked with disbelief lacing his words.

I quickly glanced back at him, seeing that his eyes were brown and was staring at me with puzzlement.

Giving him a lop-sided smirk, I answered him: "What do you think? One of us have to be smart about this situation…" I said in an overly sweet voice, "Since you chose to be reckless, I guessed it had to be me."

My hand left his suikan, releasing him so he could get up from the floor. He quickly scrambled up from the floor, clutching Tessaiga in his right hand, which remained in its rusty form. I guessed that it only transform when infused with yōki, which InuYasha didn't have any of in his current state.

"You're …" InuYasha began to say when he took me in.

"…In my yōkai form. At least for the moment … I don't know how exactly this works," I said to him while I glanced over at the fat man who was staring intently at the both of us, looking mighty confused.

Then he pointed a fat finger at first InuYasha, then at me. Back and forth a few times, obviously not knowing whom to tackle at first. But after a while of pointing at each one of us, he stopped his finger at me and seemed to think heavily on something.

"Who are you?" he then asked me, staring intently at me with his beady black eyes.

I didn't deem him worthy of an answer. Instead, I turned my eyes towards InuYasha, who was looking at the fat man with a grim expression marring his face.

"Is he the 'Peach Man'?" I asked InuYasha.

"Yeah," he answered me with a hard tone in his voice.

"I see," I said and grabbed a solid hold of my ōdachi with both of my hands, the blade glowing silver when I fused it with my yōki.

"Go find Kagome!" I whispered to InuYasha and stepped in front of him in a protective manner.

This clearly didn't please InuYasha as he crudely answered me: "I'm not going anywhere!"

I scowled over my left shoulder at him, annoyed that he was so thick-skulled: "You've done enough! No time to play hero. Especially not in your condition!" I exclaimed at him with innate irritation.

"What do you mean by my condition?! I can still fight!" he yelled at me.

I had apparently pissed him off, but I didn't care at the moment. He was in no condition to fight against this 'Peach Man'. Whom looked mighty pissed at being ignored when I shifted my gaze over at him.

"It doesn't matter who you are," the Peach Man said, "I'm gonna eat ya both!"

When he roared the last sentence, he charged at us. I reacted on instinct; I pushed InuYasha out of the way and readied my blade. Lightning crackled up and down the blade, ready to make its yōki-infused attack.

"Rakurai!" I whispered out through clenched teeth and swung my blade in a downward manner.

From Ōginsairensā, the same lightning attack I had used against the spider yōkai lashed out from my silver blade, and struck out towards the Peach Man. The air smelled sizzled and burned, like the air itself got hit with my yōki-infused attack. It hit the Peach Man. But to my horror, it didn't seem to frazzle him one bit. I could only stare at the abomination that kept charging towards me. With no time to avoid his attack, he rammed right into me, knocking the air out of me. A choked gasp left my lips. But it immediately got replaced by a strangled cry of pain when the momentum of his charge made me fly in the air and collide with the hard floor. Then I felt a searing pain in the back of my head when my head met the floor, knocking me out cold.

~oOo~

I wasn't even at my full five when I registered voices around me. At first I couldn't distinct the spoken words, but as time passed by, I was able to focus on the voices around me. One voice was gruffy and harsh, while the other sounded exactly like InuYasha.

"Struggle all you want. It'll only help the thorns to suck your blood," the harsh and gruffy voice said, though I felt that it wasn't meant for me.

I tried to move, but as I did so, something sharp seemed to pierce my skin, tearing up my clothes multiple places. A hiss of pain left my lips and my mind felt extremely foggy.

"ARRRH~!" InuYasha roared in retaliation to the previous spoken words.

Something tugged at the sharp objects wrapped around me, making them dig further into my skin. I hissed once more with the newly afflicted pain. But something was off about the sharp objects that tore into my skin; it seemed like they were draining my energy, making me more than fatigued. It was a wonder that I was somewhat attentive, considering that I hadn't slept well the last two days.

"Inu… Yasha…?" I murmured, feeling exhausted and found it hard to say a word.

The things that were impaling my skin seemed to drain my energy and I found it harder and harder to stay awake. I could hear InuYasha say something, but he seemed so far away that I couldn't hear his words. Within a few seconds, I found myself too exhausted to keep myself awake and I succumbed to the fog in my mind.

~oOo~

"Hey, are you still alive?!" someone yelled at me, someone I knew who was.

I groaned and tried to open my eyes, but they felt more than heavy, and I found myself fighting to open them. Someone was shifting right next to me, tugging at the sharp restrains around me. I hissed when I felt the sharp objects pierce deeper into my skin, making me bleed more profusely.

"Wake up, wench!" the person yelled at me and tugged more violently at the restrains.

"What…?" I mumbled exhaustedly.

I finally managed to open my eyes, but my sight was hazy and unclear, making it impossible for me to see my surroundings.

"About time that you responded!" the person sneered at me.

It hurt in my entire body, even more so when I tried to turn my head towards the person that had been speaking to me.

"InuYasha…?" I muttered confusedly.

My sight was slowly coming back to me, but I was still unable to discern the person next to me, who seemed to be as incapacitated as I was.

"Who else, stupid?" he huffed at me, clearly annoyed with my slow reaction.

I was finally able to see the person next to me, and I was surprised for just a second when I spotted the black hair instead of the anticipated silvery hair.

"W-where are we?" I asked quizzically, uncertain of where we were and how we had ended up here.

InuYasha's brown eyes stared at me with disbelief for only a moment before he looked right ahead and tried to escape his confinement.

"Somewhere within the Peach Man's house," he huffed out, showing signs of being exhausted himself.

I huffed a breath of air as my response, but other than that, I didn't say a word. My eyes glided over our surroundings, seeing a darkened room with only one torch lighting up our surroundings. InuYasha and I were tied up with thorny roots, with the thorns digging into our hides. The only other things I could see were multiple jars, which were approximately three feet tall each, and a closed wooden door. Just as my eyes had landed on the closed door, it opened and revealed the abomination known as the Peach Man. He sauntered into the room InuYasha and I were in and his beady black eyes landed on us in the same moment.

"Aww… You're still alive!" the Peach Man said and closed the door behind him.

I could feel my anger rise within my blood, awakening my yōki at the mere sight of him. Then the Peach Man dropped something to the ground in front of us. My eyes glided down to the discarded object, seeing that it were clothes. But not anybody's clothes. It was Kagome's school uniform.

"What tragic expressions on your faces…" the Peach Man said in a mocking tone.

My blood boiled within my veins, fueling my yōki. InuYasha sounded surprised when he murmured Kagome's name. I didn't glance at him, instead I stared at the Peach Man with unbridled fury.

"What have you done to her?!" I growled wrathfully at the despicable man in front of us, ready to tear his limps off.

He looked at me with emotionless eyes, clearly not afraid of me: "Don't worry…" he said in a bored manner while he pulled a flask from his side and drank some of its contents.

When he was satisfied, he continued his sentence: "You'll see her soon enough… in my belly!"

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**A/N: Gotta love those cliffhangers. And dare I say that Aiko's got a temper and really doesn't like the Peach Man! (But who does? I certainly don't like him…)**

**What do you think of the Peach Man?**

**Anyways, I'll see you all next Sunday. Stay safe!**

**A/N – a few glossa****ries:**

_**Rakurai – **_**(**_**落雷 –**_**Thunderbolt/Lightning Strike)**


	21. Chapter 21 - The Real Hermit

**A/N: Hello to you all. Sunday is here (like it's around 1 a.m. where I am), so I'm gonna load my chapter now, since I have other things to tend to later today and wanted to be sure that I was on time with the chapter.**

**Now, thanks to Inu-Hanyou2016 and ReadingRainhoe for joining the fave-fam. Also, thanks to Kagz419 and darkangelynn5 for leaving a review, thanks for your praises and opinions. To end my endless gratitude, thank you all for reading my story and to those who has my story on their Alert-list.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: A fair warning of foul language and blood.**

**Now onwards from where we left:**

* * *

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**Chapter 21 – The Real Hermit**

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I was more than furious with the Peach Man's statement. I found it hard to believe that he had eaten her.

_No, she can't be dead! There's no way!_

"You … you _ate_ her?!" InuYasha exclaimed right next to me, obviously not believing the despicable man's words either.

"Well, what else are mortals for, hmmm?" the Peach Man said in a confused manner, like he couldn't think of any logical means for people's existence.

I roared at him with innate fury, hating his mindset: "YOU FUCKING SWINE!"

It wasn't only me who was riled up by the Peach Man's words; InuYasha was as well: "You're going to **die!**"

We both launched ourselves against the thorny vines, trying to reach the Peach Man, who had conveniently placed himself far enough away from us. We were unable to lay a finger on him.

"_Heh, heh, heh_ … It's no use to struggle…" he said and took another sip of his flask, "Those vines cannot be severed."

Suddenly a howling sound could be heard, and the next second a tugging sensation pulled me forward, with vines and all. I could've sworn that it was almost like Miroku's Kazaana, yet it seemed subdued in power for some unknown reason. I didn't think heavily on it when I felt the vines loosen around me. The sound of the ceiling cracking and giving after surrounded me altogether with the howling sound and InuYasha's roar. Then the vines gave after for the force of the tugging wind, and InuYasha's and my struggles. It tumbled forward and covered the Peach Man and the rest of the room with its spiky thorns.

I rapidly gasped after air, feeling exhausted with the energy spent, yet I could still feel my yōki swirl within my veins, fueling me forward.

"Where's that piece of shit?" I growled with barely contained anger and fury.

In the same second, I heard InuYasha say desperately: "Don't give up Kagome! I'll turn this monster's gut inside out…!"

I spotted InuYasha and saw a fat leg, which I knew was attached to the Peach Man. With purposeful strides, I strode over to the abomination of a creature, ready to tear him limp from limp.

I barely registered InuYasha saying: "You two…?!" surprised by something that I didn't care about.

Flexing my fingers, I could feel my nails elongate into claws, ready to tear up the despicable man lying underneath the thorny vines. I was almost where the Peach Man lied buried underneath the thorny vines when someone grabbed a hold of my bloody and naked right arm.

"Let's go!" InuYasha exclaimed in a hurried manner.

But I wasn't going to leave the Peach Man unpunished for harming Kagome, so I struggled in InuYasha's grip.

"No!" I growled with anger, "I'm not going anywhere until I've ripped this _abomination_ to pieces for eating Kagome!"

Something in me shook and I could feel something deep within me awaken to my demand for blood. The blood of the Peach Man! It felt wild and wanted revenge for the harm he had done. I felt even more powerful, and I could feel my yōki grow exponentially; it was even more energizing than the yōki Gin had given me.

"He hasn't eaten Kagome yet!" InuYasha yelled at me and pulled at my arm, turning me around in the process so that I was facing him.

But something shocked him; I could see it in his eyes when he looked at my face. His brown eyes raked over my face, befuddled about something that I couldn't possibly know what was without looking into a mirror and see it for myself.

His words seemed to calm me down a bit and I looked into his eyes, trying to discern if InuYasha was lying to me.

"According to Miroku, Kagome is in the kitchen in this hellhole!" he said in a calmer manner, yet there was still a certain desperation in the tone of his voice.

"Miroku?!" I asked, puzzling over when InuYasha have had the chance to talk to Miroku.

"Down here," I could hear Miroku say, though it sounded far away.

I glanced down and spotted Kagome's school uniform, and upon the fabrics were Miroku and Shippō. I was surprised at seeing them in their current state; they were so small that they could fit neatly in my hand. Squatting down, I reached out my left hand towards Miroku and Shippō, who quickly scurried up on my open palm.

"Then it was your Kazaana I felt before," I said in a questionable manner, thinking back to the howling and pulling wind.

Miroku gave me a nod, and was about to say something, but he didn't get the chance because of me: "I guess size matters sometimes," I joked, forgetting our current situation.

Which InuYasha was so nice to remind me of: "Chat later! We need to find Kagome!"

I scowled up at InuYasha: "And what about the Peach Man?!" I asked, remembering the anger I had towards the fat man.

I got up from my squat and faced InuYasha, giving him my full attention.

"We'll deal with him later," he said and pulled at my right arm, almost dragging me out of the room and leaving behind the vine-buried Peach Man.

We quickly tore down the hallway and down the set of stairs the hallway revealed. Not knowing exactly where the kitchen was, I asked Miroku for directions which he gave me in steps as we continued onwards to the kitchen. After a few minutes where we almost ran down the stairs, I spotted a closed door further down the stairs, with light coming out from underneath it.

"It should be that room," Miroku said.

He was standing on my left shoulder, keeping a tight hold on my blond hair, though it didn't hurt. Shippō clung to the neckline of my osode, making sure that he didn't fall off with the fast pace I kept.

"That room," I said to InuYasha in a breathy manner.

He let go of my arm and headed towards the door before me. With high speed, he tackled the door with his left shoulder and the door crashed inwards. At the same time, he yelled Kagome's name in a desperate manner. Light streamed out of the room and unto the stairs, lighting up the last few feet from me to the now broken door.

"InuYasha…!" I heard Kagome yell with relief.

But InuYasha didn't enter the room fully, which I found odd. When I reached him, I found out why he had stopped up. In front of us there was a big bath with Kagome standing in the middle of it. A very naked Kagome. They were staring at each other, and I could see the relief in Kagome's eyes. That's when I reacted to InuYasha staring at Kagome's naked form, clearly not in a hurry to look away. This infuriated me to no end.

"Don't look at her you fricking pervert!" I yelled at InuYasha while I wacked my right fist against the back of his head.

Though I hadn't thought that I had put that much force into the punch, InuYasha fell forward, crashing against the stone floor with the hit I had given him. A painful groan came from InuYasha, just at the same time as Kagome squeaked with surprise and the sound of water sloshing around echoed against the walls of the room.

"Seriously, are all the men in your family a bunch of perverts?!" I yelled at InuYasha's prone form on the ground.

I was annoyed with the situation. Apparently it wasn't only Sesshōmaru who liked to look at naked women. At the thought of Sesshōmaru, I felt a painful tug in my heartstrings. This wasn't the time to be thinking about him.

"Aiko-chan!" Kagome exclaimed in surprise, like she hadn't registered me before now.

But I didn't acknowledge Kagome, I was more focused on InuYasha.

"Instead of peeping at her like a creep, you should offer your suikan to her, so she doesn't have to walk around naked!" I said in a reprimanding manner.

InuYasha shuffled a bit on the floor until he was sitting up on the stone floor with his back towards Kagome.

"Geez lady, would you give me a second?!" he exclaimed annoyedly.

Before I could answer his question, Kagome spoke up in a worried manner: "You're all bloody…!"

I looked up at Kagome, who was kneeled in the bath near the rim, hiding her amble breasts with her arms. She was glancing between me and InuYasha, concern visible in her brown eyes.

"It's just some scratches, Kagome-chan," I said gently.

The sound of fabric ruffling pulled my attention back to InuYasha, who was in the process of taking off his suikan, just as I had told him to do. When it was off of him, he reached it out behind him, handing it to Kagome without looking at her.

"Put it on … no matter how disgusted you are by the blood stains!" he said in a somber voice.

Kagome took a hold of the bloodied suikan and stepped out of the water she had been in.

Kneeling down beside InuYasha, she said in a kind voice: "I'm not disgusted … by _your_ blood…"

He didn't respond to her words.

~oOo~

InuYasha and I were resting on some steps, both completely exhausted with how much blood we had both lost. Though I guessed that InuYasha had lost more blood than I. Yet I was sleep deprived. None of us were in any state of fighting.

Miroku and Shippō had moved over to catch a ride from InuYasha instead of me, but I didn't mind it. I could hear Miroku and Shippō speak with one another, though I wasn't able to hear their exact words. I was simply too tired to care at the moment.

The sound of naked feet landing softly on the stone steps echoed gently against the walls over to us. I shortly glanced up and spotted Kagome holding a light in her left hand.

"I found a place from where we might be able to get outside!" she said gently and kneeled down beside InuYasha.

"Can you walk, you two?" she then asked us, glancing first at me and then at InuYasha.

InuYasha pushed himself up in a righted position rather than the slacking position he had held before: "Outside… c-can you see out…? Is it… morning yet…?" he asked in an exhausted manner.

"It's still pitch black!" Kagome said, then added in an apologetic manner: "Look, I'm sorry, but until your yōkai powers return, we've got to keep running!"

"Kagome's right," I said while I pushed myself up so that I stood on the steps, "I'm a wild card at best and we can't depend on my yōkai powers to emerge when we need them to. Our best chances at getting through this is to wait out until you've gotten your powers back."

I kept my eyes on InuYasha, seeing him look at me with a serious gleam in his brown eyes. A short while passed us by before he gave me a nod, conceding to my statement. Slowly he got up from his seated position, using the wall to help him up, then we followed Kagome as she led us up a second path of stairs.

We walked in a slow pace, but eventually we got to a door which Kagome opened up for us. She walked in first, followed by InuYasha, and then me. There wasn't much inside: there was a low table with some scrolls on, a small pot with what looked like a white magnolia, and a couple of huge vases. At the opposite side of the door, there was an open alcove, showing the darkness of the sky.

We all walked over to the alcove and glanced out and down. The alcove hung over the cliffside with a dead drop of at least sixty feet. I glanced over at Kagome and saw InuYasha looking down at the free fall down under the alcove.

"This… is the place you thought we could escape…?" InuYasha said in a deadpanned manner.

Kagome was looking down into the abyss as well: "It won't work?" she asked in a surprised manner.

This answer earned her a distraught InuYasha, who clapped his hand against his face like he thought her comment was more than stupid. I sighed at Kagome's attitude.

"Well, it would've worked … if we had had a hundred feet rope to toss over the railing," I said with a sigh.

"Oh," Kagome said like she realized her error.

Her brown eyes shifted over to me, until InuYasha said: "Th-this is what we'll have to do…"

This made Kagome shift her attention back to InuYasha, where she interrupted his speech.

"No way!" she exclaimed, already objecting to InuYasha's plan without even hearing it first.

InuYasha shifted his attention back to Kagome, looking at her with irritation: "…I haven't said anything yet…"

"You're planning to let me get away alone, right?!" she said crossly but quickly continued her speech without letting InuYasha answer her question: "I repeat: no _way_!"

Before they could get into a fight, someone spoke up who wasn't one of our little group of five: "Is … someone there…?"

The voice sounded like a withered old man's voice and came from behind us. Immediately we all turned around to see who it was. The voice came from the white magnolia, which I now saw sported a human head of an old man with long white hair and beard. Kagome shrieked in shock and I gasped out in surprise of seeing another plant with a human head.

"It has been so long… since I have heard… the voice of another…" the old man in the white magnolia said, seeming relieved at having some company.

Kagome was the first one to approach the flower, kneeling down beside it and holding out her flame close to the flower. The light danced over the pale face of the man, casting him in light.

"Um… W-were you also devoured by the Peach Man, sir?" she asked him gently.

I chose to approach them and stopped up right behind Kagome. Leaning lightly over Kagome, I looked at the man in the flower while he told us his story.

"I erred badly … in teaching such a fellow my tricks…" he said in a sorrowful manner, clearly feeling bad about what he'd done.

I was shocked by his words: "You mean, you're the real hermit?!" I exclaimed in disbelief of what he had just said.

"Alas, yes … and mentor to the 'Peach Man'."

Suddenly, InuYasha was right in front of the hermit flower, throttling the stalk in anger: "You!"

"InuYasha … W-wait…!" Kagome said with panic in her voice.

But InuYasha wasn't listening to Kagome: "Do you know what you've done, fool?!" he yelled at the hermit, "Teaching the powers of a Hermit Master! To a man-eating mononoke!"

I could understand where InuYasha's anger came from; if the hermit hadn't taught his tricks as a Hermit Master to the Peach Man, then we wouldn't be in this sticky situation.

"But the Peach Man … is _not_ a mononoke," the hermit said in a deliberate pace.

This was shocking news to me. But when I thought about it, I hadn't sensed any yōki from the Peach Man at all.

"He came to me a merely another mortal man…"

Before the hermit could say any more, I could feel an approaching aura. One I knew was that of a yōkai: "We have company!" I exclaimed and got up into a fighting stance.

Per reflex, I reached behind me, ready to draw my blade when I found out that it wasn't there. Yet there was no time to contemplate about where it was. Because in the next second, the door to the room got demolished when something ginormous and heavy rammed the door in.

"_Heh, heh_ … Clever little things… Got all the way here, did you…?" a gravelly and booming voice said with exhilaration.

I stared up in disbelief at the monstrosity that had just entered the room. I knew that it was the Peach Man, but his physique had changed drastically. Everywhere his skin was showing had turned into stone. I was perplexed at how this transformation had occurred.

"You say _this_ thing used to be human?!" InuYasha exclaimed in disbelief, "You think I'm an idiot?!"

I pulled at Kagome, pushing her behind me in order to shield her.

Then I heard Miroku, who was clinging onto InuYasha's right shoulder: "It _is_ possible for a human to transform into a demon, remember…?"

The Peach Man's aura was ominous, but it didn't stop Miroku from finishing his thought: "… If the evil within him is strong enough…"

But the Peach Man had another thought to Miroku's explanation: "I'm not 'evil'! I just …"

I could feel his yōki grow in strength, like he was readying an attack. But before I could react to it, he swung his staff, which I hadn't spotted before now.

"… Wanted to get _**stronger**_!" he exclaimed in a deep booming voice.

From the motion of his staff, thorny vines sprouted from him and charged us.

"Watch out!" InuYasha yelled desperately and charged me, pushing Kagome and me out of the way from the attacking thorny vines.

But his action resulted in him taking the brunt force of the thorny vines, his back being ripped up by the attack. Blood gushed out of his newly created wound, painting his already bloodied hadagi redder. His momentum pushed me and Kagome to the ground, with him landing on top of us both.

"InuYasha!" Kagome screamed with fear of seeing him hurt like he was.

I could only stare at the blood that gushed out of InuYasha's back, not knowing what to do.

"Humans are worthless," the Peach Man said with disgust.

I looked up at him with immense hatred for the monstrosity in front of us, seeing his beady black eyes glare at us with contempt.

"They're born helpless, spend their lives doing someone else's work in the mud … and then they die!"

I grinded my teeth against each other, scowling at him with hatred and fury. He was despicable.

"My mother and father lived and died like that," he continued with his villainous monologue, "I promised myself I never would. That's why I apprenticed myself to that ridiculous 'Hermit Master'!"

I shortly shifted my eyes towards the hermit flower, visibly seeing his depressed demeanor.

"But after years he'd only taught me a few basic little spells … So, when he wasn't around, I took a peek at his scrolls and learned that the fastest way to master the magic … is to devour the _**flesh**_ of one who has already mastered it!"

My blood began to boil with newfound energy, and I could feel my yōki grow in strength with every word he spoke. Gently I pushed InuYasha over towards Kagome, freeing myself from his weight. My finger grew into claws once more, and I righted my position, readying myself to attack him when I saw an opening.

"However," the Peach Man said in a disgusted manner, "The final secret spell … the recipe for the elixir of youth and longevity … that alone is still inside his skull…"

He glared at us with insanity shining brightly in his beady black eyes: "That's why I'm letting his _**head**_ live on!"

"… Youth and longevity …?" Kagome muttered next to me, but I kept my eyes on the Peach Man.

That's when I saw the ginormous Shikon shard in his navel. I couldn't believe that I hadn't spotted it before now. But now that I had, I understood how he had been able to transform into the stone man he had become. A plan formed in my mind, which was basically to get a hold of the Shikon shard. That way, he would be back to human again and we would be able to kill him.

"You… you've been killing people for _**that**_ …" Kagome exclaimed with disbelief, "…Even though you're human too?! You eat human flesh?!"

"What's wrong with the strong eating the weak?" the Peach Man asked Kagome like he couldn't see the problem in doing just that, "It's the same as a snake devouring a frog."

This comment made me explode with wrath: "It's cannibalism, you _**freak**_!"

Just as I had screamed it at him, I charged him, going for the Shikon shard in his navel. But he was ready for my attack. He swung his staff, making the thorny vines charge me. With inhuman reflexes, I duck under them, barely avoiding the sharp thorns that seemed purely intent on drawing out every last drop of my blood. I ended up right in front of him. With haste, I reach out my clawed hand towards the shard imbedded in his navel. I even managed to touch it; its warm aura connect with mine for only a second before he retaliated. He swung his stony hand at me, the back of his hand connecting painfully against my right cheek.

The force of the swing made me fly backwards a few feet, and I only stopped flying in the air when I collided with the wall on my left. I crumbled down to the floor, feeling disorientated and a throbbing pain in my right cheek. It felt almost like my jaw and cheekbone were broken.

I groaned with the pain I felt which rendered me motionless.

My mind was hazy, but I could hear shouting and then something that sounded like a vase breaking. The sound of the breaking vase was shortly followed by the sound of another vase breaking. I could hear people talking, but I couldn't hear the words, only the tone of their voices. One was wise and sounded withered, while another sounded agitated and angry, and another one sounded gravelly and booming. Suddenly I felt a hand rest upon my right shoulder. I tried to look at the owner of the hand, but my vision was foggy, making it impossible to see the person next to me.

"Kagome…?" I asked with uncertainty.

The hand clenched with empathy, acknowledging my question and at the same giving me an answer to my question. It was indeed Kagome who was at my side.

"Get … the shard…" I said in an exhausted manner, feeling my tongue swell up in my mouth.

It was nearly impossible for me to speak with how much my cheekbone and jaw were hurting. I could hear Kagome's gentle voice, yet I was still unable to discern her words.

Then in the next second, I could hear a fight break out. The hand left my shoulder and I knew that Kagome couldn't just stand idly by and do nothing. She and I were a lot alike in that manner.

My consciousness slipped away from me and I found myself surrounded by only darkness. Yet what felt like only seconds later, I found myself conscious and able to hear what was going on. Something cracked, then I heard a yowl of pain. Then all I could hear was a ringing in my ears.

But suddenly I heard something light clattering to the ground, like I was right next to it.

I found the last bit of strength in me and opened my eyes. At first my vision was clouded, but steadily my vision came back to me. And just in time for me to see the Peach Man backhand InuYasha away from his person.

"Little wench…!" I heard the Peach Man say with fury.

I saw him charge towards Kagome, and I feared for her wellbeing.

"How _**dare**_ you?!" the Peach Man roared at her, coming ever closer to Kagome, who shrieked with fright.

I tried with all my might to get up and do something, but I felt more than broken and exhausted.

"Duck, Kagome!" InuYasha then yelled at her.

He charged the Peach Man while he clutched his right arm, which hung limply against his side.

In the next second, he collided with the back of the Peach Man, forcing him towards the alcove and over the railing, which got destroyed by the force and weight of the two combined. I could only stare at the disappearing forms of the Peach Man and InuYasha.

"INUYASHA?!" Kagome screamed fearfully and ran over to the ruined alcove to glance down into the abyss.

"INUYASHA!" she desperately screamed again.

~oOo~

"The Peach Man's … dead," Kagome said.

We were back at the tree with the human head fruits. Miroku and Shippō were back to their normal size. I hung up against Miroku, fatigued and battered and unable to move without a bit of help. He had his left arm slung around my waist while I had my right arm swung over his shoulder. I really dreaded the moment I got a chance to see how bad I looked.

"But InuYasha… where is he?!" Kagome exclaimed fearfully.

We had stopped up at the bloody corpse of the Peach Man, lying on his front.

"Maybe a pancake…" Shippō said with his childish voice, "With peach topping?!"

I lazily glanced down at the little kitsune, who was staring intently at the dead body in front of us.

"N-no way…!" Kagome squeaked in disbelief.

"That's just morbid, Shippō," I said to the kid in a deadpanned manner.

A sad expression befell Shippō's face with how his comment had seemed rude.

"We **must** rescue him!" Miroku said passionately, then he addressed me, "Can you stand for a moment?"

I gave him a reluctant nod and pulled my arm away from his shoulder. He let go of my waist, which made me lose my balance for just a moment when he wasn't supporting me anymore. But I quickly regained my balance, and Miroku rushed over to the corpse of the Peach Man. He stuck his Shakujō underneath the Peach Man and tried to push him away.

"InuYasha!" Kagome exclaimed and rushed over to help Miroku.

As did Shippō, who then uttered with exertion: "_Unnh_… He's heavy!"

While they tried to push the corpse away from where we all assumed InuYasha to be stuck under, I slowly sauntered over to the tree and rested my weary and battered body up against the trunk. Then I felt something extraordinary: InuYasha's yōki. I could feel it coming from above me and glanced upwards, seeing the heavy foliage of green leaves and a few human heads.

_So, he's alive_, I thought with surprise.

Just as I had registered InuYasha's yōki, Shippō wailed with extreme sadness.

"InuYasha's dead!" the little kitsune howled and tears sprung from his closed eyes.

Kagome glanced over at the kid: "No! H-he couldn't be…!" she said in disbelief.

I was about to object but didn't get the chance to say a word when Shippō continued with his sad reply: "He was injured pretty badly… And he fell from the cliff in his _**human**_ body… there's no way he could have survived!"

I was overwhelmed with sudden grief at seeing Shippō cry so desperately and mourning the _death_ of InuYasha.

Again, I tried to tell them that InuYasha was not dead, but Miroku spoke before I had the chance to say what needed to be said: "Don't cry, Shippō. Let us pray for his soul together."

His voice was somber as he consoled Shippō.

"Miroku-sama, even you…?!" Kagome said with disbelief of the monk's reaction.

He stared at the corpse of the Peach Man while he said: "InuYasha probably died without regrets."

"Ehm, guys …" I began to say, trying to say that InuYasha was still alive, but they didn't hear me.

Instead, Miroku said praising words about InuYasha's heroism: "For even as he sacrificed his life, he knew that he was saving yours, Kagome-sama…"

I was quite baffled at the sad aura that surrounded all three of them, and my eyes glided over to Kagome. Her eyes looked determinedly at the Peach Man's corpse, seeming grief struck at losing InuYasha.

"But… I didn't want that …" Kagome said in a somber and sad voice, "… I didn't want him to…"

Then anger took over her and she yelled out with fury: "He didn't have his yōkai powers… but he kept fighting… You're an idiot, InuYasha!"

Her angry outburst shocked me and reminded me of how she had reacted when our fathers died three years ago; she had been filled with anger and disbelief of his and my fathers' passing. She hadn't shed a tear at the news. Instead, she had lashed out with harmful words like she was doing now. I couldn't help but think that she really liked InuYasha; her reaction towards InuYasha's assumed death was simply too similar to that of our fathers', and I knew that she loved them both.

"He was indeed a fool…" Miroku said in a muted voice, quickly followed by Shippō's cry: "You humongous idiot!"

At that moment, InuYasha jumped down from the tree top, landing soundlessly behind the trio. I smirked at the appearance of InuYasha, and almost laughed at seeing the disbelief written all over his face. It was a priceless expression.

"Hey InuYasha," I said before he got a chance to say a word.

This made the trio look up at me with shock, and I pointed at InuYasha who was still standing behind them. All three of them then looked behind them and saw InuYasha, who was once again in his original form: silvery hair and dog-ears instead of human ears.

"If you're all finished…" he sneered at them, his eyes narrowing at them like he couldn't believe their previous behavior.

One clearly got the feeling that he had been listening in on their grief struck behavior not moments ago. And to literally call the guy an idiot may haven't been the best parting words.

"You can't be … alive?!" Shippō said with doubt as he sprung up on InuYasha's left shoulder.

InuYasha crossed his arms and closed his golden eyes.

"Sorry to disappoint you," he then said sarcastically.

Miroku stood up as well and turned towards InuYasha: "And what are you sulking about?"

"You think I'd die from that?!" InuYasha asked in a harsh manner and opened his eyes, then narrowed them and glared at Kagome: "Who's calling who an idiot here?!"

I felt quite sorry for the guy; for him to see how people, who clearly cared about him, had reacted upon his assumed death. No man should have to go through something like that.

"How dare you call me that?!" Kagome exclaimed and I could easily hear the sadness in her voice.

This made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. I couldn't bear to see nor hear Kagome being sad. With great haste, or as fast as my battered body allowed me to move, I ran over to Kagome and kneeled down beside her.

"Am I an idiot for caring about you?!" she continued on before I had reached her.

I could see the tears in the corners of her brown eyes, ready to fall down from their confinement. InuYasha was obviously surprised by Kagome's outburst.

"Wh-what do you…?" InuYasha asked her while he looked down at her with a confused look.

This made Kagome jump up from her kneeled position and shout at him: "You were pushing yourself too hard! I know it!"

I had almost reached her when InuYasha chose to yell at Kagome: "We're all alive! Stop crying!"

"I am **not** crying!" Kagome yelled right back at him.

When I was finally close enough to her, I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry on my shoulder. Her tears wetted my osode in an instant, and we both fell down to our knees. A silent groan escaped my lips at the pain that shot up through my spine by doing this small motion.

"I'm just so glad you're alive!" she sobbed into my shoulder.

I shifted my gaze up at InuYasha, who kneeled down beside us with a perplexed expression on his face. It gave me the feeling that he wasn't used to dealing with crying women, no matter what brought the tears to a woman's eyes. At least Kagome's tears were those of relief and not grief or hurt, which was a great reprieve for me. Tears of relief weren't the worse to deal with.

Shortly after I had begun to comfort Kagome, I could feel something shift in the air. And I somehow knew that it was the Peach Man's yōki that was vanishing from existence. I glanced over at the body which was dissolving into freckles of dust. They got carried away with the gentle wind that roamed around us, scattering the dust specks, only leaving behind the Peach Man's clothes. I couldn't help but reflect over this: were all yōkai gonna disappear like that when they died?

"The Peach Man's corpse…" I heard Shippō say, shortly followed by Miroku saying: "The enchanted heads … are transforming into real fruits… The Peach Man's spell has been broken, and his victims' souls have been released to ascend."

I glanced up at the tree where the heads had been growing, only to see that there were pink peaches in their stead, looking healthy and ripe.

"The people who were entrapped in the miniature garden have most likely been restored to normal now."

I couldn't help but feel happy about the good ending to the shenanigans of the Peach Man's deeds.

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**A/N: That's that for now. I'm sorry to tell you the slightly bad news I have. I only have 2 more complete chapters to upload, then you guys have caught up with what I have written so far. I have been quite busy with school, so I haven't have the time I wanted and needed to sit down and write new chapters. I'll try squeeze in some writing sessions in between homework, but I can't promise how far I'll get. But the good news is that I should get some time off in the 42****nd**** week (if I'm not mistaken, it's somewhere in the middle of October), so there should be a lot of time for me to write a bunch of chapters. I hope you guys don't take it too badly if I happen to miss a few Sunday's worth of uploads. Until next Sunday, stay safe and spread the love.**

**A/N – ****a few glossa****ries:**

**Shakujō – Miroku's Buddhist staff.**


	22. Chapter 22 - Homebound

**A/N: Konnichiwa minna. Sunday has arrived and that means a new chapter from my department. But first off, my usual appreciations. To Tsukkancs, Xenomorphlover, momonic, AmeliaRoseOswald, jannafrost198, jmc666, Thekiraookami, and ganzanz, thank you all for adding my story to your faves; welcome to the fave-fam. Next thanks to DeathlyIceMaiden, Kagz419, and Thekiraookami for leaving a review; I greatly appreciate your thoughts and comments. And lastly, thanks to all of you that has my story on their Alert-list and to all of you for taking the time to read my story. I greatly appreciate it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Warning: There will be blood.**

**Before I exceed your patience, let's continue with the story:**

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**Chapter 22 – Homebound**

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_I was standing in a clearing. It was nighttime, with a full moon shining brilliantly and lighting up my surroundings. The air felt pleasantly warm. At first I was alone in the clearing, then I felt an aura I was more than familiar with. I turned around and saw him standing at the edge of the clearing._

"_Sesshōmaru," I whispered, surprised at seeing him._

_He didn't answer me. He just stood there at the edge of the clearing and studied me. Time seemed to stand still when our eyes connected. His golden eyes seemed almost warm at that moment, which puzzled me because he never had warm eyes. They were always either, cold, distanced, emotionless … or simply just unreadable. Even though I found it weird, it didn't seem to affect me in any way._

_My lips twitched and I felt myself smiling back at him, feeling happy at seeing him. The left side of his mouth twitched up, giving me half a smirk at seeing my response to his presence. Then he reached his left hand out towards me with an open palm._

"_Come," he said._

_His eyes seemed to brighten up with a warm invitation and I felt compelled to walk over to him. My body moved on its own accord, even though I thought it strange that he was reaching for me with his left arm; wasn't it gone?_

_I could have sworn that I remembered from somewhere that he only had one arm._

_But my puzzling vanished as soon as my hand met his. His hand was warm and engulfed my smaller hand gently. I looked up at his handsome face, and he looked at my face. His liquid golden eyes were shining with adoration, which I again thought was strange since he'd never shown me such an emotion. Yet I didn't seem to think heavily upon it when I felt his warmth envelope me. He had moved my right hand to rest upon his kimono clad chest and pulled me close to his warm body. His left arm was wrapped around my lower back, keeping me in his lovely embrace. The scent of him – of nature after a rainy day with a subtle hint of cinnamon – wafted from him and enveloped me. I sighed with pleasure and closed my eyes, letting his scent engulf me completely. I really adored his scent. Then I felt his fingers gently tug a stray lock of my hair and moved it behind my ear. Only to feel his fingers slowly follow the shell of my ear in an intimate gesture. I sighed at the warm tingling feeling that covered my ear with the path of his fingers. His fingers traveled across the side of my face and down my jawline, pleasantly scorching my skin where his fingers had been._

_Then I felt him gently grab a hold of my chin and pushed my head upwards. I lazily opened my eyes and saw his handsome face close to mine through my eyelashes. His golden eyes seemed to be molten and alive as our eyes were held in an intimate stare. A gentle sigh left my lips when I felt his thumb ghost over my lower lip, softly coaxing me to open my mouth. I closed my eyes and let his thumb play with my lower lip as he deemed fit. It felt amazing to feel his thumb caress my lip, making my lip tingle with anticipation of what I wanted to happen._

_I felt his hot breath land on my face and his thumb left my lip. His fingers then mingled into the short strands of hair at the base of my neck, softly massaging my scalp with gentle claws. His left hand pulled me even closer to him, still resting against my lower back. Our bodies molded together, leaving no empty space in between our heated bodies. Then I felt his lips hover over my own, his enticing warm breath landing on them. A soft moan escaped my lips and I could feel my body vibrate with anticipation and sudden need. My hands clutched at his kimono clad chest, wrinkling the fabric in between my clenched fingers._

_I wanted to feel his lips against my own. Cover them in warm pleasantries. Move against my own in a splendid, bodily motion. I didn't have to wait for long. His lips found mine and molded against them perfectly. His lips were extremely soft and hot, making my lips tingle with desire. Our kiss was amazing. It was more than amazing; it was lifegiving, exhilarating, and pure heaven. His hot tongue ghosted against my lower lips, and I opened my mouth for him, giving him permission to his unspoken wish. Immediately I felt his tongue against my own, dancing with my own in an ancient performance. I loved the feeling of his tongue against my own, his tongue warm and perfectly meaty. I moaned while we continued to kiss each other, our hands clinging on to one another. Both afraid of falling. And both afraid of losing the bodily contact in between us…_

~oOo~

I sat up quickly, a gasp leaving my lips. Not once in a million years would I have ever thought that I would have an intimate dream, especially not with Sesshōmaru playing a part in it. My dream shook me and left me breathless. Even though it was kind of innocent – we only kissed – there was something hidden underneath the simple gesture.

_**Like you, wanting Sesshōmaru-sama **_**badly**_**?**_

I sighed at hearing Gin's words inside my mind. Her words were the disturbing factor in this conversation.

_Not likely_, I thought, answering her question.

She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth repeatedly, like she wasn't believing my reply.

_**Don't lie, Aiko-chan… We both know that you are infatuated with one certain, handsome yōkai, who is an amazing kisser!**_

_I'm not having this conversation with you!_ I exclaimed frustratedly in my mind, quieting her with my harsh words and closing my mind for her intrusions.

I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a bed in what I recognized as my bedroom at the Higurashi household. With a heavy sigh, I glanced over at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was almost noon. Kagome would be at school as of now and wouldn't get off in another four hours or so. We had returned to our rightful time just yesterday, with a lot of hazzle at that. InuYasha wasn't happy with Kagome going back to her own time. Neither were Shippō nor Miroku, but they weren't as angry with the decision as InuYasha was. But at the mention of ramen, InuYasha reluctantly let us go back.

When we had arrived and Kagome's mother saw us, she had been more than concerned with my appearance. She didn't ask into the time I had been away, only ushered me up to the bathroom to take a nice, long bath. Then she had mothered around me, taking care of my cuts and bruises, and made a feast for our return. I was happy for her taking care of me like she'd done since my mother died, and with the amazing feast she had procured; my favorite dishes had been made. Yet I couldn't get myself to eat that much of the delicious food. Kagome's mother noticed it but didn't say a word about it.

Sōta had been more than ecstatic about my return and asked me a million questions of what I had experienced on the other side of the well. I kept it short, only telling him about acceptable happenstances. Then I distracted him by playing video games after dinner, which worked flawlessly. I ended my day by going to bed around midnight and had slept up until now.

I sighed heavily, feeling like staying in bed for the rest of the day. But I had at the same time a desire to go back to my uncle's house, to see what had happened there. After all, Kagome had told me about his disappearance, and I was more than curious to see if there was some kind of clue left at his house to where he might had gone off to. It was a relief that I didn't have school to think about. But I reminded myself that I couldn't just stroll around; people might see me and that would certainly include police and such. Which would definitely not be ideal; they would interrogate me and try to find out where I had been. And I wouldn't be able to tell them of where I had been. They would certainly lock me up in a mental institute. So, I had to hide my face.

I got out of bed and walked over to the closet, glancing at the sparse clothing inside of it. I found a pair of black yoga pants, a simple black shirt, and a black hoodie, and quickly donned it. Closing the closet, I walked out of the room and silently walked down the hall and down the stairs. When I reached the end of the stairs, I spotted Kagome's mother standing in the kitchen, washing the dishes from last night. Her back was towards me, so I took the chance to walk out of the house without being discovered. I didn't want to worry her with what I had planned to do. I reached the entrance hall and had just stuffed my naked feet into my waraji when Kagome's mother addressed me.

"Where are you off to, Aiko-chan?"

I froze up in mid-motion, my hand hovering over the door handle. With reluctance, I let my hand fall down to my side and turned around to look at the matriarch. She had a gentle smile on her lips and her eyes gleamed with curiosity and concern.

I sighed heavily, then answered her: "Just out…"

Her smile didn't falter even for a second. She just nodded once. Thinking that that was it, I turned back around to exit the house. Just as I had opened the door an inch, she spoke once more.

"I know that your situation is difficult as of now…" she said in a sympathizing manner, "And even though I would normally lecture you about how important school is, I know that your reappearance would raise questions you wouldn't be able to answer… I want you to be careful."

I had turned around and was looking at the gentle woman while she told me all of this. She took a step closer to me, then placed a baseball cap on top of my head with the shade hiding my face.

"Keep it on while you are out. That way, you aren't as easily recognized," she said while she pulled my hood over the baseball cap, casting my entire face in shadows.

"Thank you," I mumbled, surprised with her actions.

"There's no need to thank me. Family takes care of their own. You are a part of our little family … I love you like you were my own daughter, and I want you to stay safe."

Her words touched my heart and made it throb with delight. She was like a mother to me, even though I loved my real mother with fond memories. I had let Kagome's mother take over the role without any fuss. With haste, I wrapped my arms around her neck and gave her a heartfelt hug, showing her how much I loved her. I could feel tears prickling under my eyelids, begging to be released, though I didn't allow them to escape their confinement. She hugged me back with love and kindness. After a short while, I let go of her, and she of me.

"I won't ask you where you're going, only that you stay out of trouble and are back here before dinner, ne?" she said with her hands resting on my shoulders and brown eyes locked with my own.

"Alright," I answered, and she let go of me.

I opened the door and stepped outside, saying my goodbyes while I closed the door behind me. Then I headed out towards my uncle's house which was only about ten minutes away on foot from Kagome's home.

When I arrived at the place, I stood on the other side of the street and surveilled it and the surrounding houses. The house seemed almost gloomy with how the shadows danced over the faded yellow bricks. Police tape was wrapped around the fences and blocked the opening in between them. There was also police tape on the front door, making it impossible to enter the house without breaking the tape. My eyes shifted over to the neighboring houses, which seemed to be abandoned at the moment; no one was home. The street was empty as well and I saw my opening. With hasty steps and ever vigilant eyes, I walked towards the gloomy house. I crossed the street without any incident and walked under the police tape, using my left hand to lift the tape to easier get under it. A feeling of dread made my stomach churn and cramp. I felt simply awful while I moved closer and closer to the front door. The feeling was so intense that I wanted to puke with how awful I felt. All the bad things I had experienced from my uncle's hands happened in this very house that I was about to enter. My heartbeat and my breathing were quick and heavy, making me feel woozy with all of the anxiousness I felt.

When I was right in front of the door, I stopped up and looked at the police tape that obscured my entrance. With a shaking hand, I grabbed the door handle and tried to open it, but the door was locked. I didn't have a key on me, which was poorly planned on my side, so I glanced around for the spare key I knew where hidden near the door. My hands sought up over the door at the tiny crevice that was between the doorframe and the wall. I had to stand on my toes to reach the crevice. After reaching it, I padded my fingertips against the doorframe inside the small gap, until I felt the small and cold key that was hidden there. I grabbed a hold of it then slumped down on flat feet once more. The key was a bit rusty at the head but otherwise looked like a regular house key.

With the key, I cut the police tape away and stuffed the key into the lock, unlocking it, and opened the door.

When the door opened, I immediately got assaulted by the stench of old stale beer, mold, and dusty air. I hid my face behind the sleeve of my hoodie, feeling more than ready to puke at the dreadful stench and my anxiety. It wasn't a surprise that it smelled that awful, since I had been gone for over a month, and I had an inkling feeling that my uncle had been missing for approximately as long as I had been away.

Once I had gotten used to the smell and wasn't going to throw up any possible second, I stepped inside the house. I let the door stand open to let some of the bad air out and the fresh air get in. Just when I had entered the house, I stopped up and looked down the hallway I was so familiar with. It looked like the same as I remembered, except it was gloomier and the lights were off, leaving the once white walls and tatami floor in shadows. To my left I saw the kitchen which had a dozen empty beer bottles upon the small dining table, and weeks of used dishes were scattered across the kitchen counter and in the sink, with flies summing around the old dishes and beer bottles. It was disgusting and I pulled my sleeve up over my nose and mouth in an attempt to hold the stench out and keep my bile in.

My eyes then swept to the right and saw the door leading to the living room was closed. With deliberate steps, I walked over to the door and rested my hand against it. I sighed shakily and prepared myself to slide the door open. Counting to three inside my head, I opened the door with my eyes closed. I heard the door give a thump when I had opened it all the way. Then I sighed again and prepared myself to take a look inside the room where most of my torture had occurred. Sweat formed on my forehead and dripped down from my temple, and my body was shaking with fear and dread of seeing the room. I berated myself for feeling like a coward; it was just a room and my uncle wasn't here. He was AWOL and I had nothing to fear from the room itself.

I slowly opened my eyes and let it sweep over the room. I was surprised to see the room in chaos and destroyed. All the furniture were up-ended, and some were even broken. There were beer bottles scattered across the room with most of them being broken that left puddles of old beer on the floor. Hesitantly, I stepped into the room and immediately the sound of glass breaking met my ears. I glanced down and saw a broken beer bottle and guessed that I had stepped upon some of the broken glasses, breaking more in the process.

I pushed it from my mind and slowly continued inside, breaking more of the broken beer bottles with every step I took. When I was a few feet inside, I spotted something against the wall to my left – the wall with the hallway on the other side. I focused in on it and registered that it was blood. There was blood pooled on the floor and smeared across the dirty wall. One smear looked like a hand had made it, with a solid handprint at the beginning of the blood smear. What had happened here while I was gone?

It didn't look like my uncle was just missing. It looked like he had been fighting against someone. Tentatively I moved closer to the blood pool and blood smeared wall and studied the patterns. When I reached the bloody handprint, I gasped. The handprint was too small to be my uncle's. I glanced down at my right hand, then up at the bloody handprint, comparing sizes. With dread running down my spine, I moved my hand up towards the handprint. My whole body was shaking, and so was my hand while I let it hover over the bloody handprint. Fear gripped me when I concluded that it was my handprint. I couldn't figure out how my handprint made with blood was on the wall. And I didn't have a clue about who's blood it was. If it was my hand print, was it also my blood on the wall? Or was it my uncle's?

I couldn't remember something like this had happened. There was no memory of me fighting in this room against my uncle. At least not to such a degree where it would end up with blood smeared against the wall and pool at the floor, or with the room looking like a hurricane had passed through. I had to get out of here!

As quickly as I could, I left the living room and headed towards the front door, but I immediately stopped up. Just outside, I could see a police car stop up in front of our fences. The engine turned off and the clicking of the doors of the car opened. Two men stepped out of the car and I could see they both had police uniforms on. Don't tell me someone had seen me enter the house?

Without thinking heavily on it, I moved away from the front door and scurried down the hallway. I had to hide. Because if they found me here, they would undoubtedly take me to the station and ask me questions. And I didn't have time for that!

I took a left and entered through the open door and found myself inside my old bedroom. It was quite primitive with only the necessary furniture. There was a single man's bed against the furthest left corner of the room, with a wardrobe hidden behind the door. On my right there was a simple wooden desk with school books and notebooks scattered over the wooden surface, as well as loose papers and utensils. I closed the door behind me and glanced at the wardrobe. It wouldn't make sense to hide inside it; it would be the first place they would look. The same goes for hiding under my bed. But up on top of the wardrobe, there were a few boxes. I stepped around and glanced up once more, seeing the empty space between the boxes and the wall. There was just enough room to hide me there. And there was enough room between the wardrobe and the ceiling as well. Without hesitation, I used the end of the bedframe like a stepping platform. With the same momentum, I used the wall as well, and got high enough to grab a secure hold on the wardrobe. I pushed myself up, minding the boxes and then crawled up on top of the wardrobe. Then I turned around and pushed my back hard against the wall behind me and bend my knees up in front of my torso.

I was panting with nervousness and my heart was beating erratically in my chest. With much difficulty, I tried to quieten my beating heart and breathing. I clasped a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing.

Then I heard the door to my bedroom open and a pair of feet stepped into the room. I closed my eyes and hoped that I wouldn't get caught. I could hear the feet shuffle against the tatami floor, getting further into the room. It was a wonder that I could hear where the police man was, considering how loud my heart was beating. I could only hope that it wasn't so loud that he could hear it. Suddenly I heard the wardrobe doors being opened and a hand pushed aside the clothes. The hangers scraped against the metal rod they were hanging on when they got pushed aside. Like I had thought; it would be the first place they would look. The footsteps moved away from the wardrobe and shuffled against the tatami floor, moving over towards the bed. I opened my eyes and found myself lucky that I wasn't able to see my bed. It just meant that he would likely not be able to see me either. The sound of my bed creaking let me know that he was at it. I could almost picture how he used the bed as leverage while he knelt down to look under the bed. Even though I was curious to see exactly what he was doing, I knew better than to move. I would most likely make a sound, like one of the boxes scraping against the wardrobe or make the wardrobe creak with the shifted weight. The bed creaked once more, and I knew he was standing once more. I could see light flash against the wall next to me. My heart beat quickened and I felt more than nervous that he would think of looking above the wardrobe and find me in the process.

A second pair of feet stepped into the room.

"It seems like he's already left. There was no one in the bathroom or the second bedroom," the newcomer said, his voice young and vibrant.

The light moved away and the first police man said: "Probably. He's not here either," his voice was deep and sounded somewhat older.

"Maybe it was false alarm? The only sign of anyone entering here is the open front door," the young police man said.

"Maybe," the first police man answered yet didn't continue the theorizing.

They left the room, their footsteps loud against the tatami floor. I could hear them continue to speak, but I was unable to hear what exactly they were saying. My heart was beating so loudly in my chest with how close it had been. How close they had almost found me. I stayed on top of the wardrobe, wanting to make sure that they wouldn't return.

I didn't know how long I stayed in hiding, but when I deemed it safe enough, I jumped down from the wardrobe and walked over to the window in my room. The sun was hanging much lower on the horizon. It seemed to be late afternoon. Stepping away from the window I glanced around my room. This room had been the safest place in this house. I didn't know why, but my uncle never tried anything when I was in my room, yet he had assaulted me a few times in the bathroom. My eyes swept up to the boxes on top of my wardrobe. Those boxes had been there, unopened since the day I had moved in with my uncle after my father's death. That was almost three years ago, and I was curious to see what exactly I had in those boxes. I walked over and pulled the two boxes down, then placed them on the floor beside my bed. They were quite heavy, but I managed without dropping them. When they were both down, I sat on top of my bed and opened the first one. Inside I could see multiple objects, but what caught my eye was the plushie a little further down. It was around twelve inches in length and resembled an extremely cute and fluffy dog with white fur and floppy ears. I picked it up and studied its face. It had an open mouth with its plushie tongue hanging out of its open mouth like a panting dog, and its eyes were black threads sown into the white fluffy furlike fabric. If it wasn't for the eyes, the plushie almost reminded me of Sesshōmaru. My heart throbbed painfully at the thought of him, and I found myself missing him, though I had no reason to be missing him. I closed my eyes and hugged the extremely fluffy dog plushie into my chest. While I hugged the plushie into my chest, I opened my eyes and they landed on a photo. I easily recognized it. On the photo there was my dad and me as a twelve year old girl. I didn't look much different on the picture from what I looked like now, except for the clearly youthful energy that exuded from the younger me. She was hanging on the back of the man – who was my dad – with her arms slung over his shoulders and loosely wrapped around his muscular neck. They both had brilliant smiles on their lips and their matching eyes were shining with pure happiness.

My fingers shook when they sought out the masculine jawline of my father on the picture. I could feel my eyes burning with unshed tears and my heart throbbed just as painfully as when I had thought of Sesshōmaru. I missed my father dearly, but I knew that I would never be able to see him give me that brilliant smile anymore. Other than from photos like the one in my hand. I hugged the photo to my chest and let the tears roll freely from their confinement, the plushie resting on my lap while I let myself succumb to my sorrow.

~oOo~

Darkness had already taken the sky when I finally reached Kagome's house again. It was late and I knew they had probably already eaten dinner, but that didn't matter to me at that moment. I didn't feel that hungry. When I was in front of the front door, I stopped up and shuffled the duffel bag I was now carrying from my right shoulder to my left and opened the door. I didn't declare my arrival when I stepped inside and got out of my waraji, closing the door after me. The door made a gentle thud, and in the same instant, I heard a pair of feet running towards the entrance where I was. They stopped up abruptly and I looked up at the newcomer, only to see Kagome standing with a hand to her chest and breathing heavily. I pulled my hood down and pulled off the baseball cap and looked at Kagome.

"You're home! … I've been … so worried … about you!" Kagome exclaimed in between her panting, still trying to catch her breath.

I simply gave her a nod, not feeling talkative at the moment.

Just then, it seemed that she had managed to catch her breath and was now speaking to me without breaking her sentence: "Kā-san said that you were out but didn't say where to?"

There was an underlying question in her sentence, but I didn't answer her. Her eyes glided over me and then rested at the duffel bag over my left shoulder.

"Wait, have you been to …" she asked me but didn't finish her sentence when she added two and two together.

"Yeah," I answered, cringing at how gruff my voice sounded.

"What happened?" she asked me, concern evidential in her voice and she took a step towards me.

My reaction was to take a step back; I wasn't in the mood for a hug. I knew that it was cruel of me to act this way towards her when she obviously had been quite concerned about me. But I simply needed some time alone and some sleep. I felt more than exhausted with what had happened today.

She looked sad and confused at my reaction, and I mentally sighed at how sour things were turning. I needed to give her an explanation of some sort, yet I wasn't feeling up for it.

"Sorry Kagome-chan," I mumbled and looked down at my feet, "It's been a long day, and I just want to sleep…"

She gave me a reluctant smile, clearly upset with me. But she took a step back so that I could pass by her and had a clear view of the stars. This time I did sigh because I knew that she was upset with me pushing her away when she only just wanted to make sure that I was okay. But I wasn't okay … not with what had happened today. It was so confusing seeing the crime scene – yes, it was a crime scene since there was evidence of a fight and blood on the wall and floor.

"Talk tomorrow?" I asked her, making a compromise to our little dilemma at hand.

This rewarded me with one of her gentle and supporting smiles, clearly satisfied with my attempt of finding a middle ground.

"Sure," she said and clasped her hands behind her back, "but only if you want to … I don't want to trouble you, Aiko-chan."

I gave her a nod, conceding to our little agreement, and then I passed by her, went up the stair, down the hallway, and into my room. I closed the door and dropped the duffel bag on the floor. Then I sauntered over to the bed and let myself fall on top of the sheets. What seemed like no time at all, I had fallen asleep. Too exhausted to care about changing into a pajama.

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**A/N: And that's it for now. What do you think have happened while Aiko has been in the past? What has happened to her awful uncle?**

**It will remain as a mystery for now. But when I get the time on hand to write more chapters, there will come light on the subject (one small piece of the puzzle at the time). I will remind you all, as of now, I only have one more complete chapter left, then you have caught up to where I am with the writing (but not with what I have planned in my mind). Until next Sunday, stay safe and spread love and happiness to the world.**


	23. Chapter 23 - Fluffy-sama

**A/N: Hello everyone, this is the last chapter I have for you guys. I am sorry, but I have to put this story on a temporary break. I will get back to it as soon as I have the time and energy to continue it. As of now, I am too stressed with my studies and being a sociable person (not really by choice). So, my deepest apology for leaving you hanging in the waiting. But on a positive note (sorta, I guess) see this chapter as the end of the "first book", so to speak. And when I get back with new exciting chapters, it will continue on like a book series will (but I'll still be uploading it here under this story title; I'm not gonna make a new title…)**

**With that said, thank you all for sticking with the story, to AllRawrz, fulltimegenius, and MaireAlice for joining the fave-fam, to Kagz419 and darkangelynn5 for leaving a review with your theories of what might have happened to Aiko's uncle (no spoilers on my end). With that said, please enjoy this last chapter I have for you, until further notice.**

**Also, thanks to everyone for your patience. I know that this is a re-upload, but the newest chapter will come up shortly after this one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

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**Chapter 23 – Fluffy-sama**

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The next day, I found myself awake at the break of dawn. Only the tiniest sliver of light permeated in between the curtains and hit my face. I didn't open my eyes immediately, but I was completely awake when the small ray of sunshine landed on my face. Almost instantly, my thoughts went to the day before, the blood pool on the floor and the smears of blood on the wall. Then back to me finding my old plushie and the photo of me and my father. I opened my eyes and stared up at the ceiling for a while, contemplating what to do now. I couldn't help but wonder what had happened to my uncle. Even though I hated that man with my entire being, what seemed to have transpired was a mystery that I wanted to solve. Yet…

I glanced over at the discarded duffel bag and my thoughts went to Kagome. It was more important for me to help her out than it was to figure out what had happened to my uncle. He could wait. For all I knew, he might already be dead. But Kagome was alive, and she needed my help to gather the Shikon Jewel shards together with InuYasha, Shippō, and Miroku.

A sigh left my lips and I got up from the bed. I glanced down at myself, seeing that I was still in the clothes I wore yesterday. I figured that I could use a bath, and that was what I did.

After the bath, I returned to my room to get dressed. The towel fell to the floor when I let go of it, and I glanced up and spotted my reflection in the mirror. I stared at my reflection, seeing my naked form, which was unblemished on the front, not even Sesshōmaru's love bites were there anymore. Then I turned my back to the mirror and saw my scarred back. There were over a dozen cuts in various sizes, depths, and degrees, all showing the torture I had endured over the last three years. The freshest one was a bit over two months old and was still pinkish in color with jagged lines and was crossing over one of my oldest scars. It went from my right shoulder and down over to my lower left scapula, crossing the spine in the process. Tentatively I touched the pinkish flesh and froze when I barely touched it. Flashes of a memory lost got jarred from the touch. From the second to the next, I felt the searing pain of the wound being made, with me screaming in agony, then the next I was back in front of the mirror staring at my face in the mirror. But what freaked me out was the change on my face the second after I experienced the flashback. I could have sworn that my eyes had turned electric blue and I had black yōkai markings on my face. Yet it was gone in less than a second and I figured that it was just a spur of my imagination.

I tore my eyes away from my reflection and walked over to the wardrobe and opened it. I stared at the left side of the wardrobe where the shelving part of it was – the other half was for the hangers with some of my osode and a single full-length kimono. It was a black and simple kimono. And it was the kimono I had worn to Kagome's father's and my father's funeral. Since they had been such good friends, Kagome's mother and I had decided that it would be an honor for both our families if their funerals would be held together. To commemorate their friendship and let them travel to their next lives in union. Also, considering that they had both died in the same accident it was also more convenient than to discuss which family was going to hold their beloved's funeral first. Especially since we both had decided on a classic Buddhistic funeral ceremony.

I quickly glanced away from the kimono and grabbed some clothes from the shelves as well as a black osode with white trimmings on the sleeves and the neckline from one of the hangers. Then I donned the clothes: a pair of white undies, a white bra, a pair of black leggings, a pair of white tabi, and the osode I had grabbed from the hanger. Then I pulled out a white obi from the drawer next to the wardrobe and wrapped it around my waist, securing my osode.

When I was done with putting on clothes, I walked over to the duffel bag and hoisted it up on my bed. I opened it and pulled everything out of it. Most of it was clothes, but the only sentimental items inside the bag was my dog plushie and the photo of me and my father. The clothes went to the floor; they needed to be cleaned, but the plushie and the photo rested on top of my pillow. Then I went about and packed the duffel bag; making sure that I had everything necessary for a long while in the past. Hurriedly I went out of my room and over to a build-in closet in the hallway and grabbed two sets of towels: two big ones for my body, and two smaller ones for my hair. Reentering my bedroom, I stuffed the towels into the duffel bag and moved over to the wardrobe. I grabbed a whole bunch of panties and bras, not caring what color or materiel they were. They went inside the duffel bag, and then I was back at the wardrobe. This time I grabbed a whole bunch of tabi and many pairs of leggings and moved back to the duffel bag to stuff them inside. I went back to the wardrobe and began to pull my osode off their hangers; most of them were grey, but there were also a few black and white once. I hung them over my left arm and worked the osode off with my right. When I reached the black kimono, my hand froze in mid motion. I felt almost compelled to pull it off as well and pack it into my duffel bag. But then I thought better of it and chose to close the wardrobe, so that I wasn't tempted to take it with me on my journey to the past.

Before I went back to the duffel bag with my osode, I walked over to the dresser and pulled the drawer containing my obi out of the dresser and dumped every obi into the bag, followed by the osode on my arm.

Taking a short break, I placed my hands on my hips and looked at the duffel bag, half-full of my clothes that was now all wrinkled. Maybe I should have _packed_ the clothes rather than _stuffed_ them into the bag. I shrugged my shoulders, then bent down and grabbed my sack I had used on my travels and emptied its contents onto the floor. Except for the nearly empty shampoo bottle smelling like sakura blossoms, my toothbrush and toothpaste, I placed them on top of my nightstand. With the sack empty, I tossed it next to my duffel bag and exited my room. My feet led me down the hallway and to the bathroom, where I entered and kneeled down in front of the small cabinet under the sink. Opening it, I began to search it for a few bottles of my shampoo. But it seemed like there wasn't any. I sighed and got back up from my kneeled position. Just when I was about to exit the bathroom, the door opened up before I could wrap my hand around the door knob. I felt my heart soar upwards and beat extremely fast like my heart was stuck at the top of my throat.

The door revealed a surprised Kagome who was clinging a pair of towels to her chest. She was still in her pajamas and her black hair was tousled from a good night's sleep. I berated myself from the slight panic attack I had almost fell into. It had just been Kagome; my uncle couldn't _touch_ me while I was in her house. Besides, he was missing which was a good thing for me.

I sighed at her appearance and let the last of my fear escape my body with the light exhale.

"Aiko-chan … you're up early," Kagome said in a light manner, followed by a yawn worthy of lions.

"Yeah … I woke up at dawn," I answered.

She stepped aside so that I could exit the bathroom, but she didn't enter it immediately. Instead, she turned towards me while I moved, clearly wanting to talk.

"Getting ready for school?" I asked her in a friendly manner, feeling talkative again after yesterday's happenstance.

"No, it's Saturday," Kagome replied, "I'm getting ready for a shopping trip with kā-san."

I had completely forgotten that weekend was a thing. Spending over a month in the past where there wasn't a single day where you weren't meant to do something would do that to you.

I chuckled a bit at my forgetfulness: "Right, there's something called weekend in our era."

Kagome giggled at my silly joke and I smiled in response, feeling happy at that moment with how light the mood was. It was a nice exchange from what had happened the last month and a half. After a short while, we looked at one another and the air seemed to turn a bit dark. I knew what she was about to ask me about.

"Aiko-chan … can we talk about yesterday?"

I let the smile on my lips disappear and I looked down at my feet. The seconds ticked by before I looked back up at Kagome, her face showing her concern and patience. I found deep inside of me the ability to put the smile back on my lips, yet I could feel that it didn't reach my eyes.

"After your bath, you can stick by my room if you have time before your shopping trip with okā-san. How does that sound?" I asked her in a light voice.

"I always have time for you," she said, stating that she would do just that.

I gave her an affirmative nod, and then we parted ways. She went inside the bathroom and I went to my room. I closed the door after me, walked over to the bed and sat down at a free spot. Then I glanced over at my plushie and the photo. I picked up the dog plushie and hugged it into my chest, preparing myself for the inevitable talk with Kagome.

~oOo~

A knock on my bedroom door pulled me out of my musings and I glanced up at the door. It opened without me giving permission, but I didn't mind it. I knew that it was Kagome, and we had our little talk that needed to be executed. She entered and closed the door behind her, then she walked over towards me and sat down on the fluffy rug in front of the bed. I didn't say a word, only looked at her as she took me in. Then her brown eyes swept down to the plushie I was still clinging tightly into my chest.

"I had forgotten that you had that," she said, her eyes staying on the soft white-furred plushie, "If I remember correctly, you named him Fluffy-sama…?"

I laughed lightly at the mentioning of the plushie's name, almost forgetting myself what I had named it before she mentioned its name.

"Yeah," I said, and hugged it tightly, "I named it Fluffy-sama. I got it on my sixth birthday from my father."

I smiled fondly down at the cute little plushie, remembering the day I had gotten it. My mother was still alive back then. I didn't remember her well; mostly it was her long dark blond hair a shade lighter than my own, her gentle smile and the smell of water lilies – her perfume…

~oOo~

_We were at some sort of summer fair and had walked by a booth where you had to throw balls at a target. My eyes had landed on the plushies and I immediately fell in love with the sweet dog plushie with its soft-looking white fake fur and slightly droopy ears. I had pulled my father by the hand towards the booth and pointed at the plushie._

"_Tō-san!" I exclaimed excitedly and pointed at the dog plushie, "Can I have that?!"_

_When we reached the booth, I had to stand on my toes to look over the counter and was only just able to spot the plushie from my position._

_The booth owner laughed at my exited demeanor, and my eyes swept up to the middle-aged man with a shabby mustache and brown eyes that seemed to be too big for his shallow face. When I saw the man, I hid myself behind my father's leg, using him as a shield against the stranger. My father's hand landed on my head and tousled the dark blond strands a bit, a gentle laugh escaping his lips. I glanced up at him and saw his tender yet masculine face. His eyes that matched my own were shining with mirth caused by my shy behavior. His hand, big and comforting, stayed on top of my head while I clung to his leg, clutching the black fabric of his dress pants in between my small fingers. He shifted his eyes over to the booth owner and addressed him._

"_How much for a game to win the dog plushie?" my father asked, his voice deep and soothing._

"_¥500 for three balls, but you need to hit the target all three times to get enough points for the dog," the man said, his voice kind of snappy and wheezing._

_I decided that I didn't like the man very much, but I really wanted the plushie. So, I looked beggingly up at my father, my eyes itching when I felt tears being formed in my eyes. It wasn't fair to play the 'un-the-verge-to-cry'-card, but I really wanted that cute dog plushie._

"_Please, tō-san," I whimpered, completing the act._

_My father had always had an extremely soft spot for me, and he couldn't resist my pleading face. Especially not when I began to whimper and let tears be created in my eyes. At least I didn't use that card very often, so it was easier to get what I wanted when I finally used it. His eyes shone with knowledge; he knew my trick, yet I could see that he was going to indulge my wishes._

"_What kind of tō-san would I be if I don't oblige to the wishes of my birthday girl, ne?" he asked me, his eyes making crow's feet at the corner of his eyes when his face folded into a full grin._

_He patted my head again, and I gave him an extravagant smile in return, exhilarated at getting my wish. Then he moved his hand away and stuffed it into the back pocket of his dress pants and pulled out his wallet. Pulling the required money out, he put the wallet back into his back pocket before he handed the money over to the booth owner. The owner took a hold of the money and then handed three white balls that seemed to be the same size as a regular tennis ball. Father weighted one of the balls in his hand, then looked down at me. I let go of his leg and stepped closer to the booth counter, standing on my tip toes so that I could see my father hit the target. That's when I saw the booth owner pull at a lever and the targets began to move from side to side, making it a harder target to hit. I glanced back at my father, worried that it was maybe impossible to get my wanted prize. But my father seemed undeterred by the new development and took a stance. He turned his left side towards the booth and spread his legs so that his feet had approximately the same distance between them as his shoulders were wide. Lazily he tossed the ball in his right hand up into the air and caught it easily when it fell down into his open palm. His eyes were watching the targets intently and he shifted his weight so that he was standing more prominently on his left foot._

_He threw the ball into the air a couple more times before he made a powerful underhanded, sideways throw. I followed the path of the ball and saw it tore through the air at an immense speed. It hit the target square in the bullseye, and I felt extremely excited that my father hit the target._

_Before I could look at him again to see him prepare his next shot, a ball hit the next target square in the bullseye, shortly followed by the last ball hitting its target in the bullseye as well. I was so shocked by how quickly it had happened that I didn't register that my father had won before the white furred dog plushie was right in front of me. Dumbfoundedly I grabbed a hold of it and blinked a few times in confusion. When it finally hit me that I had gotten the plushie, a happy, childlike grin spread over my face and I looked lovingly at my father who was squatting besides me and giving me a matching smile._

"_You won!" I exclaimed happily._

"_Of course, my sweet pup …" he said proudly and fatherly._

_I was so happy that I tackled him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and hugged him fiercely. He laughed, his voice low and vibrating. I loved his laugh so much that I had to laugh in union with him._

_He wrapped his left arm around me and situated me on his left waist. Then he got up from his squat and moved away from the booth. I kept my arms wrapped around his neck, holding my plushie in front of us._

"_What are you going to name him?" my father asked me, his right hand tugging gently at the dog plushie's left ear._

_I looked at its cute face and at the black stitches that were its eyes. While thinking heavily on a fitting name, I tugged at the plushies right ear, feeling the fluffy and soft fake fur on my small fingers._

"_He is really fluffy," I said in a thoughtful manner._

_Then it hit me, just as I had commented on its fluffiness._

"_FLUFFY-SAMA!" I exclaimed in a loving manner and hugged him closely to my chest with my left arm; my right arm was wrapped over my father's shoulder to keep my balance on my father's waist._

_My father laughed deeply at my exclamation, then said in a resolute and loving manner: "Fluffy-sama it is."_

_He ruffled my short blond hair in a playful manner with his free hand, and I laughed loudly at his loving gesture. Then I snuggled my nose into the crook of his neck, taking in his calming scent of fresh mowed grass and morning dew._

"_I love you, tō-san," I whispered into his neck while I closed my eyes and snuggled Fluffy-sama closer still into my chest._

_He kissed the top of my head and whispered lovingly against my hair: "I love you too, my sweet pup."_

~oOo~

I was still staring at Fluffy-sama when my little trip in memory lane ended. My eyes narrowed slightly at something from the memory stood out sharply now that I had more knowledge of what I was. With my right hand tugging gently at the still soft fur of Fluffy-sama's left ear, its face seemed to look at me through its stitched black eyes, knowing what I was thinking of.

"You know…" I said in a thoughtful manner to Kagome, though I kept my eyes on Fluffy-sama, "I came to think about my tō-san's pet name to me…"

I let go of Fluffy-sama's ear and stroked its soft white fake fur on its bag a few times. Even though I didn't shift my eyes back up to Kagome, I could feel her eyes on me, awaiting me to enlighten my statement.

Which I did: "He called me 'my sweet pup' …"

I let my eyes shift over to Kagome, who was looking at me intently her eyes seemingly larger at the hidden meaning of those words.

"Do you think he knew of our heritage? That we were descendants of a powerful yōkai bloodline?"

My question felt heavy in the air and I was somewhat dreading the possible answer of my question. Kagome's brown eyes softened, then shook her head from side to side a single time and sighed defeatedly.

"I don't know if your tō-san knew of your bloodline, but if I should take a guess… Then I must say that he probably knew."

She glanced shortly at Fluffy-sama before her eyes swept back to my green ones: "'My sweet pup' isn't exactly a common pet name to use on one's child."

I sighed at her answer and looked at Fluffy-sama once more; those were the exact same thoughts I had just had.

"You're right … but then … why did he never tell me?" I asked out loud, though I knew that Kagome couldn't possibly answer that question for me.

My gaze shifted back to Kagome and saw her sad expression; I knew that if she had an answer, she would have given it to me in a heartbeat.

Silence was our only companion as we stared at each other. I decided to change that, though what I was about to tell wouldn't be good news for Kagome. Placing Fluffy-sama beside me, next to the photo, I pushed myself down from the bed and joined Kagome on the carpet.

"So," I said while I got comfortable on the carpet, sitting right in front of Kagome.

Her eyes never wavered away from me as she patiently awaited my tale, which I was going to tell.

"You know I went to my uncle's house…?" I asked and she nodded once, "But what you don't know is that it's apparently still a crime scene, or something alike… There was police tape on the fences and the front door."

I took a deep breath and continued my tale: "I had forgotten my key, but thankfully, the police hadn't found the spare key, so I used it to unlock the door and remove the tape so that I could enter. Inside, the kitchen was a mess, with dozens of beer bottles residing on the kitchen table, and old dishes scattered across the kitchen counter and filling the sink to the brim. There were flies flying all over the used dishes and half-empty and empty beer bottles."

I sighed once when I pictured being there all over again: "I don't even want to describe the smell, but let's just say that it wasn't very pleasant."

Taking a short break to gather my thoughts for what I was about to tell her, I continued my story: "I then went into the living room … and it looked like a hurricane had swept right through the room. All the furniture was scattered across the room, with most of them being broken. I went further into the room and that's when I discovered …"

I couldn't get myself to tell her what exactly I had found. Even though Kagome had seen her fair share of blood and fights while she had had traveled with InuYasha, I still wanted to protect her from the gruesome reality.

"What did you find?" Kagome asked me tentatively, curious about what I had found.

I took another deep breath, trying to calm myself down a bit as I began to feel anxious of telling her. My hands clenched around the fabric of my osode that rested over my thighs, my knuckles turning white with how desperately I was clinging unto the black fabric.

I felt Kagome lay a hand upon mine, but I didn't dare look at her when I finally told her what I had found.

"Blood," I whispered, with my gaze swept to the side.

Kagome's hand let go of mine for just a second, clearly shocked about what I had said, but in the next, she grabbed a hold of my hand with both of hers. She then pulled my hand free from its grasp around the fabric and held onto it in a comforting manner. I looked up at her, feeling uncomfortable with what I had seen at my uncle's house.

"It wasn't just a few drops … it was a whole pool of dried old blood with smears upon the wall. But that's not the worst part of it … No, the worst part was the hand print I found amongst the blood smear on the wall."

Once again, I shifted my gaze away from her: "I think that the hand print was from my hand …"

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked me confusedly.

I sighed defeatedly with a hint of dread: "I mean that I think it was my uncle's blood, and that I'm somehow a part of what had happened there," I glanced up at her with seriousness, "The size of that hand print matched my hand!"

Pulling my hand free from her grasp, I hugged both of my arms around me, trying to protect myself from what I thought I might have done. I didn't know what exactly had happened, but I knew deep down that I was more than just involved in the crime; I was the main participant.

Kagome didn't touch me, but I knew that she wanted to comfort me. Yet she gave me the space I had made, knowing that I would react badly to her gentle touch at the moment.

After a while, Kagome spoke again: "What happened then?"

"I tried to flee … scared of what I had found."

I let my arms slump down to my sides in a defeated manner, feeling suddenly extremely tired: "When I reached the front door, a police car had just pulled up to the fences surrounding the property and two police men were getting out of the car."

Pulling my knees up to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them and rested my head on top of my knees. I finally looked at Kagome, which I hadn't done for the last fifteen minutes or so. She was more than concerned about me, and her eyes shone with unlimited worry on my behalf. I couldn't help but feel upset about worrying her so. She was a gentle and kind person with so much room in her heart to care about so many different people. I didn't feel like I deserved her love and consideration.

"I ran into the house again, figuring it would be better to hide than explain why the wayward niece of the missing owner of the house was suddenly there. So, I ended up in my room and hid on top of my wardrobe, with a couple of boxes hiding me from view if someone entered through the door and looked up."

I sighed and smiled sarcastically: "At least I didn't chose to hide in an obvious hiding place like inside the wardrobe or under the bed … which was where the police officer first looked."

Kagome laughed a bit at my sarcastic joke; she didn't mind my jokes, no matter how macabre they turned out to be.

"But they didn't find me. They left and I stayed on top of the wardrobe for a while – to make sure that they didn't return and found me wandering around the house or something like that."

I moved my knees away from my chest and twisted in my position. Stretching out towards the pillow, I grabbed at it and pulled it bit by bit until I had a hold of the photo that was there.

"When I deemed it safe, I got down from on top of the wardrobe. But you know me, I got curious with what I might have in those boxes, so I looked into them and found Fluffy-sama …" I righted my position and handed the photo to Kagome: "… and this."

She grabbed a hold of it and looked at it. Her eyes enlarged as she saw the photo she was holding in her hand.

"That's… you and your tō-san…" she said with surprise lacing the tone of her voice and hastily looked at me.

"Yeah… taken not long before he passed away."

My voice was cold when I said that, and I was surprised with how cold and emotionless I sounded. She glanced down at the photo, smiling at the smiling faces depicted on the photo.

"You were so happy…" she said with a genuine smile on her lips and warmth in her voice.

I didn't answer to her statement. I felt resentful. It wasn't like I hated my father. Actually, it was the opposite; I loved him dearly. But that didn't mean that I couldn't resent that I was left behind to be taken care of by a monster. A monster that I was related to by blood. Who deemed it rightful to abuse me on multiple levels. That picture Kagome was looking at with pure warmth felt like an illusion. Like a cloak that hid the true cruelty of the world.

~oOo~

When Kagome returned from her shopping trip with her mother, I was down in the kitchen, awaiting their arrival. I had played a bit with Buyo – the fat cat of the house – but I had quickly grown tired of it.

I was more than happy to see their return because that meant that I could pack my duffel bag completely, since they had gotten a couple of bottles of my shampoo and a package of neutral bars of soap. The bars of soap was for when I needed to clean my clothes and linens. I also packed a few packages of pads into my bag, as well as a few tubes of toothpaste and my maintenance kit for my ōdachi. And lastly … Fluffy-sama and the photo. The photo went into a hidden pocket inside the duffel bag and Fluffy-sama got stuffed into one of the ends, partially hiding it from any prying eyes. When I was done, all I had to do was wait on Kagome to get done as well. Then we would be heading back to the past.

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**A/N: I've finally gone through the minor errors that was in this chapter. I know that it has been some time since last you've heard anything from me. I haven't given up on my story and have done a few chapters. I've decided to begin uploading again, but I won't promise that it will be every Sunday a new chapter will come up. But with all this Corona flying around us, I want to lighten up the mood people must be in, by giving them some entertainment. It's the best I can do in these trying times, and I hope that everyone stays safe. Happy reading.**


	24. Chapter 24 - Taijiya

**A/N: And I'm back! Missed me and my story?!**

**Anyways, like I've put in the AN on the previous chapter, I've decided to begin my uploads once again, though I won't promise to upload every Sunday. But considering the times we're in (Corona and the likes), I wanted to help out the only way I know that I could for certain. So, here's a whole new chapter.**

**But first, I'd like to thank you all for your patience and to the newcomers: BlancHibue, Dgwren, foxwolf101, Larien Telrunya 1992, WindbornesWord, Pandora's little Box, ChilynxisCloud, EclipseNightClub, Tiniii25, FloraFaveXNara-Wire, IsaBellaSwan1901, YuzukiC, Forestfirekid, Shiroiookami1999, MiaSlytherin, TimeLord Say0, wolfgirl232323, Ritzyblue, AngelElmarlienHenning, Shane Ishler, SkylanderZilla, DesertMortician, Yurasen, Pokechan123, jpbrat10, LeakyCherry, narutauzu1213, Serena Elsa Snape, tatysantannag, DarkFlameBear98, Ivory-Bones, Ibag18, Nightbird755, Takara Rose Oizumi, shadowkat86, DragonWolf25, Kazumikit, BoneCruncherFarcade, Yokoxsi Siyoko, flowermanga, acetwolf94, Arianna Le Fay, Inger-berlissa910, , EkiNana, ImmortaleMorte, RinaYa, IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl, MaryFruit, , sayaadja, 22wolfgirl, wolviegurl, ImperfectionPerfection, Le pettit Charlotte, shadow spirit55, HarleyKitty, WhiteRaven75, a song on the pond, JediGemini, colorguardgirl87, and Mercidexister for favoriting my story – a warm, warm welcome to the fave-fam. Damn, I'm just gonna say that I'm so surprised and happy with seeing all of you favoriting my story even though no new chapters have been uploaded in something like six months. My heart is about to burst with how happy I am with this notion.**

**Also, a big thanks to Infernoinside, Kagz419, Yakitori-Chan, Dgwren, TimeLord Say0, flowermanga, Guest, IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl, and wolviegurl for your lovely reviews. Though many of you wrote them a long time ago, I still read them when they pinged in on my e-mail and felt so wholeheartedly happy with every positive feedback to my story. I'm so sorry that I haven't responded to any of them before now but know that they made my heart soar on gentle wings of love and happiness. I really appreciate the time you guys take to post up your thoughts on my story. Note that I don't mind any critique there may be, if any of you guys may have. Without progressive critique, my writing can't evolve to something better without me knowing about it. :)**

**Lastly, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my story and for your immense patience on my return. I hope I don't disappoint any of you with this new chapter.**

**Warnings: Detailed description of blood and gore in this chapter. You have been warned**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

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**Chapter 24 – Taijiya**

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"What! A woman walked off with the Shikon shard?!" InuYasha hollered at a poor man.

We had reached a small village with a giant centipede yōkai lying dead on the ground. The villagers were in the progress of removing the remains when we reached them and had asked about what had happened. I kept myself as far away as I could from the dead centipede, using Kagome like a human shield against the dead yōkai. Her attention was on InuYasha while he kept yelling at the poor villager.

He had a hold of the man's osode when he yelled: "When?!"

The man was confused and looked flustered and confused with what was happening, and the other villagers stopped working on disposing the centipede. Some of them were whispering among themselves, but my focus was more on trying not to freak out at the sight of the dead centipede. Even though it was dead, it made my skin crawl with fear and disgust.

InuYasha let go of the man and sneered loudly: "Answer me, curse you!"

My focus was on the dead giant bug until I heard Miroku speaking in a calm and deep voice: "Be at peace. This fellow is my apprentice monk."

When he said 'be at peace' I could feel myself be slightly calmer, yet not completely rid of the fear. I turned my attention to Miroku and saw him standing next to InuYasha.

"Who are you calling a servant?!" InuYasha said in a serious tone, his attention on Miroku.

Miroku shifted his attention to InuYasha, seeming as serious as InuYasha sounded like: "Restrain yourself! Trust me, you can only make matters worse!"

The villagers seemed more acceptable with talking with Miroku when three of the men indicated for us to follow them. We moved away from the dead centipede and over to a barren spot with a felled tree. The tension I felt when I was close to the dead yōkai reduced as we moved away, and I sighed with relief at getting away from the dread-inducing yōkai.

The three men from the village stopped up with one of them sitting down on a smooth-looking stone while the others stood a bit behind the man. Miroku joined him and sat down on an opposing smooth-looking stone, with InuYasha standing beside him. Kagome and Shippō sat down on the tree with their backs toward the group of men, but I was interested in hearing what they had to tell, so I sat down on the tree facing the group of men.

The man that was sitting down began to tell about what had happened before we arrived.

He told Miroku how the village had been terrorized by the now-dead centipede yōkai for a few weeks, until a single young woman from the village of yōkai taijiya arrived. She decimated the yōkai with ease, only using a giant boomerang as a weapon. When they had tried to pay her, she didn't accept any payment. Except for the Shikon shard that had been embedded in the centipede.

"A 'yōkai taijiya'?" Miroku asked the man to confirm what the man had told us.

The man answered with a simple "Aye."

So, there literally existed people who slew yōkai for a living. The thought kind of scared me, since I was now considered to be one of them, though I wasn't a pureblooded one. Were they the type that killed any yōkai?

Chills ran up my spine with the thought of meeting one who would just kill me without taking into consideration that I hadn't ever killed an innocent person.

"And where is the 'taijiya's' village?" Miroku asked the man.

I tuned back into the conversation between them.

"We don't know. They always come to see about us, so…" the man said.

Kagome made a comment to Shippō: "So there are people who make a _living_ out of it, huh?"

I heard her open a can and shifted my gaze over to her; she was sitting with a can of juice in her hand.

"So, these … taijiya have been collecting shards of the Shikon no Tama…?" Miroku asked the man and I shifted my attention back to Miroku.

"Aye…" the man answered again but continued speaking: "That's what they've been calling it. She said it came from her village, in the beginning…"

I was surprised by that statement and immediately looked at Kagome who looked over at me with a surprised look. Then we both shifted our gazes back to the group. I looked at InuYasha since he had prior knowledge with the Shikon no Tama from when he dated Kikyō.

"InuYasha… Did you know about this?" Miroku asked him.

InuYasha gave a simple "No…" but he seemed to reflect on the question.

~oOo~

"How vexing! Not a single person know the location of the taijiya village!" Miroku said.

Nighttime had already fallen over us while we traversed the wooded area of the mountainside.

Kagome walked beside Miroku and continued where Miroku had left the conversation: "'Somewhere in the mountains' isn't much to go on…"

"Shut up and search!" InuYasha then responded in a slightly harsh tone.

He sounded desperate in a way, which I could relate to. Knowing that there were Shikon shards in the taijiya village, I couldn't help but feel desperate as well. With those shards, we would be closer to complete our mission of collecting them all and make the Shikon no Tama whole once again.

"So, what's the plan exactly, when we get there?" I asked in a light manner, wondering how we would approach the village once we had located it.

I was walking a little behind Miroku and Kagome, with InuYasha taking the lead a few feet ahead. Shippō was hanging on InuYasha's right shoulder.

"Are you planning to steal the Shikon shard from the taijiya village?" Shippō asked InuYasha in a berating manner.

"What else?" InuYasha replied back to the curious kitsune.

That seemed like a bad plan. For all we knew, the taijiya could be really efficient and kill us all in the blink of an eye.

"With luck, he won't be exterminated himself, instead," Miroku said with a sigh.

Kagome butted in with: "They are professional yōkai slayers after all."

"We really should think of a way to approach them," I added in, "For all we know, they will kill us as soon as they see us!"

"Tch, they won't be able to stop me from getting the shards!" InuYasha added with a scoff.

I stopped up and raised a brow at him, clearly not liking his train of thought.

"They're people, so we shouldn't kill them just because we want the shards!" I responded in a slightly harsh tone.

InuYasha stopped up and glanced at me, obviously showing his irritation of my reply.

"Why do you care?! You're not a human! Besides, we need those shards! Otherwise Naraku is gonna get them all!" he bit at me, his eyes narrowing with annoyance.

I narrowed my eyes as well, crossing my arms over my chest. My lips was spread thin in a peeved manner. His saying that I wasn't human felt like a blow to my guts.

"Thank you very much for pointing out my blood status! Like I haven't found out just a few weeks ago that I'm not human! Thank you, InuYasha!"

My words were scathing and showed the disappointment and the hurt his words caused. I could feel Kagome's hand land on my right shoulder. Trying to comfort me from my distress. I didn't look at her. My focus was only on InuYasha.

"But I can't just wash away my past! I've lived my entire life as a human, and thus I relate more to them than I relate to yōkai! It's not like I've had someone to show me how to live like a mononoke!"

His eyes hardened with my words, but he didn't interrupt me, nor did he seem angry at my response.

"But no matter! That's not the point for me not wanting to harm them for us to get the shards. Yes, I know that we need them and make sure that Naraku doesn't get more than he probably already has. Yet that doesn't mean that we should resort to violence in order to get them."

The only sounds that could be heard was the gently rustling of leaves where the wind blew and the sound of cicadas chirping. InuYasha and I stared into each other's eyes, his golden ones reminding me of Sesshōmaru. Yet InuYasha's showed a certain understanding for my words and weren't anyway like Sesshōmaru's cold golden gaze. At the same time, we shifted our eyes away from each other. I felt a pang in my heart with the reminder of Sesshōmaru. It hurt to think about him, and I tried to my best attempt to push him out of my mind.

Miroku chose this moment to interrupt the light tension that InuYasha and I had created: "We should figure out how to approach them."

Kagome hummed in agreement to Miroku's statement. My eyes shifted over to Kagome, who still had her hand on my shoulder. She was looking at Miroku.

"Any ideas?" she asked him.

But before he had a chance of answering her question, I tensed up with the sudden assault on my senses. I could feel a large amount of yōki approaching us. And it felt like there were hundreds of different yōki heading towards us. Once more, tension spread amongst us, though this time it wasn't caused by any of us. It was because of the ominousness of the air.

"An ominous wind… What could it be…?" Miroku asked.

I glanced over at him and saw that his body had become rigid.

"Yōkai, and it feels like there are hundreds of them!" I bit out, trying to shake the pressure in my body off of me.

I looked up to the sky, searching it for the presence I felt. When my eyes saw the black cloud-like form move over the crescent moon, I gasped. I couldn't see them as more than a black shape, but I could feel the large amount of different yōki from the black cloud.

"YEE~!" Kagome exclaimed in horror, followed shortly by the gasps of surprise from Miroku and InuYasha, as well as the horrific cry from Shippō when they spotted the ominous black cloud.

"There's a whole pack of them!" InuYasha exclaimed in an angry manner.

I could feel Kagome remove her hand from my shoulder and could almost feel the air vibrate with her fear of seeing so many yōkai. I glanced over at her and saw her body shake.

"What is this?!" Kagome asked, her voice shaking with terror.

I placed a calming hand on her left shoulder, trying to give her some of my strength to overcome her fear. Though, in reality, I was horrified with the yōki that swirled off of the massive amount of mononoke that rolled over the sky. Her body shook less with the presence of my hand on her shoulder, though I could still feel her body tremble slightly.

"It's not your usual yōki…" she whispered in a breathy manner.

My eyes swept over the rest of our group and I saw Miroku becoming aggressive in his stance, while InuYasha seemed confounded. Shippō had jumped off of InuYasha's shoulder, which I only registered when he jumped up on my left shoulder, clinging desperately to my black osode. His whole body was shaking with horror and fear. I lifted my left hand up and placed it on top of his head, trying to soothe him with a friendly aura. He seemed to calm down a bit, yet his body still shook tremendously.

"They roil…" Miroku bit out between slightly clenched teeth, "and writhe… chaotically…"

He seemed more than troubled with the appearance of that many yōkai.

Then suddenly InuYasha burst out, like he had figured something out: "It's **bloodlust**!"

"They are about to attack something!" he exclaimed.

I grinded my teeth against each other in an angry manner. My brows narrowing over my green eyes. This was definitely not good!

"Let's follow them!" Miroku shouted.

And we all sat off into a run, with Shippō clinging desperately onto my osode so that he didn't fall off. I looked up to the sky and saw that the dark mass of mononoke rolled faster over the sky than we could run.

"Damnit! They're faster than us!" I yelled with annoyance, aggravated with seeing them get away from us.

"Just keep moving!" InuYasha responded in the same manner.

~oOo~

The yōki diminished as we neared the location where they had descended, declining quicker than I would have anticipated. Dawn had just cracked when we finally stopped. InuYasha had taken the lead, following his incredible sense of smell. I was right behind him with Shippō still clinging to my osode. Miroku and Kagome had taken the rear. We were standing on a small ravine with only three feet down to the grassy area on our right. About twenty feet in front of us stood what looked like some kind of fort, with wooden palisades and two visible wooden watchtowers.

"That's…" I began to utter at the view in front of us.

But InuYasha finished my sentence: "A fort…"

Kagome walked past me and stopped up right beside InuYasha.

"Then the yōkai's target…" she began demurely, but again InuYasha finished the sentence: "…was _this_."

He sniffed the air and made an angry grimace, then ran towards the broken entrance while he yelled: "Everywhere… The scent of fresh blood…"

Kagome followed right after him, with the rest of us following right behind them. InuYasha ran right inside, but Kagome stopped in the entrance and gasped with horror. My heart jolted with her gasp and I ran faster to reach her. When I entered the entrance, and Kagome, I stopped up immediately.

Everywhere. Everywhere there was bodies, blood, and gore. The ground was literally painted red and black with blood. There lied dismembered limbs of both human and yōkai alike scattered over the ruined village. Likewise, guts and intestines flowed from the ruined bodies of humans and monsters alike. And there were many different kinds of weapons burrowed deep into the mauled mononoke. It was simply a nightmare to watch.

"My… My kami…" Kagome whispered, horrified with the view.

Miroku walked over and stood beside InuYasha, completely struck by disbelief with the carnage in front of us. I felt speechless. Shippō moved up over my shoulders and clutched himself to my front. I couldn't pull my eyes away from the massacre in front of me, but I instinctively moved my arms up to wrap them gently around Shippō's small frame.

"They fought back courageously…" Miroku said in a low voice.

"Nearly everyone took a mononoke down with him," InuYasha added in a muted tone, "No doubt about it… this is the place…"

He didn't finish his sentence, but we could all conclude that this had been the taijiya village. The village where the Shikon shards we had sought out after were.

Suddenly I felt a yōki, which I knew I should have registered sooner. But who would have been able to register it when they were met with such a slaughter as this?

I turned around and glanced in the direction from where I felt the yōki while I pushed Shippō up to rest on my right shoulder.

My hand sought my ōdachi out, just as Kagome hurriedly ushered: "S-something's moving!"

A few feet away from us, stood a yōkai that looked like a big cat that was bigger than a tiger. It had cream colored fur with black stripes on its _two_ tails, black socks, and black ears. On its head there was a slightly jagged black marking in the shape of a diamond. Fire seemed to surround its feet, tails, and flanks.

I stared right into its red eyes, only catching a glimpse of the severed yōkai head that dangled from its mouth. My rand rested on the tsuka of my blade, ready to draw it if the yōkai in front of us made a wrong move.

Deep down I could feel that this yōkai wasn't our enemy. It growled at us in warning just when InuYasha drew his Tessaiga. I could feel his yōki infuse with the yōkai blade.

"One last yōkai!" InuYasha yelled aggressively, readying himself for a battle.

But then something surprising happened: "InuYasha-sama…"

It was an old man's voice and seemed awfully familiar.

"That voice…" I said slowly, trying to remember from where I had heard that voice before.

"Huh…?!" InuYasha said in surprise, with Kagome pipping in in the same manner: "It spoke…?"

"Calm yourself, Kirara, these aren't enemies," the voice then said.

The yōkai, _Kirara…?_ dropped the head it had held in its mouth, revealing its long fangs that looked like a pair of saber-tooth would have. Then it closed its eyes and I could feel its yōki shift. Flames engulfed it for a second or two, to then reveal itself in a miniature form of its former self. It was now the size of a common house cat. In this form, it was immensely cute, and I could barely hold a squeal in; it was simply to adorable.

But I couldn't contain the squeal, which came out from between my lips like a little choked squeak.

"Oh… How cute!" Kagome said in a much lighter tone than she normally spoke in, apparently affected by the yōkai's cuteness.

InuYasha harrumphed, obviously displeased with the turn of event. The yōkai then used its left hind leg to scratch itself behind the ear. Just as it began to scratch itself, a tiny black dot sprung from in between its creamy fur. That's when I registered the tiny amount of yōki that came from the black spot. A yōki I knew from months ago.

"As I was about to say…" the tiny black spot said, "Long time no see!"

I followed the path of the black spot and saw it land on InuYasha's nose tip.

*CLAP*

InuYasha clapped his hand against his nose, then removed his hand from his nose, leaving a red imprint from his slap on his nose.

Both InuYasha and Kagome glanced at InuYasha's hand, and I found myself moving closer as well.

"Myōga-jīji… you old…" InuYasha said in an annoyed manner and I found myself become rigid with fear.

Kami, how I hated that I was afraid of bugs. Shippō seemed to notice my sudden reaction and I could feel his eyes look at me incredulously.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Kagome asked Myōga, who was jumping up and down on InuYasha's hand.

Miroku walked up beside me and looked at Myōga: "You know this flea…?"

"A retainer of InuYasha's," Shippō said to Miroku.

He stood on my right shoulder, keeping his balance with his left hand in my hair: "Or a _passenger_ more like it…"

I kept my eyes on Myōga, trying to rid myself of my fear for the tiny yōkai.

~oOo~

We decided to give the villagers a proper burial. While Miroku had searched for some shovels, I saw the dead yōkai turn to dust while we were figuring out where to bury them. Once again, I couldn't help but wonder if that was the fate of all yōkai and mononoke – to end up becoming nothing but dust, with the wind blowing away any trace of them ever existing.

When Miroku came back, he had found two shovels. I reached out for one of them, which he gave me. Then we began to dig some graves, close to the palisades inside the fort. While Miroku and I dug the graves, InuYasha carried the corpses of the taijiya villagers and lied them gently on bamboo mats.

Myōga resided on InuYasha's shoulder while we worked.

"Ah, yes, this is the taijiya's home fort…" Myōga said.

I had to concentrate on what the flea yōkai was saying. Which was hard, considering that I had to concentrate on digging as well. But I managed…

"These folks have made a career of this nasty job for many a generation!"

"Which makes it no surprise that yōkai would hold a grudge against them," InuYasha said in response to Myōga's statement.

"True, true… But as for why they struck _now_…" Myōga said thoughtfully.

This caught my attention and I stopped up to look at the tiny black speck – that was Myōga – on InuYasha's right shoulder.

"Their best fighters were called away to some castle or other, so the defense back home was pretty thin…" Myōga continued.

This statement made me think that it wasn't a coincidence.

"There's something wrong with the whole deal…" Myōga said, putting my thoughts into words, "… it makes me wonder how the ones who got called away are doing…"

I felt grim thinking about what may have happened to the ones that got called away. The attack on this village now felt on purpose, orchestrated by someone… but who…?

I began to dig once more; I couldn't let the others do all the work.

"Sounds to me like this was a planned attack…" I contributed to Myōga's and InuYasha's conversation.

Miroku then stated: "I agree. With how the mononoke were deliberately targeting this fort and with how many there were in the attack… Someone's clearly behind it."

InuYasha yelled: "Well, whoever it was, we're gonna find them!"

I didn't comment on his declaration. But I couldn't help but try to figure out who it could be. Kagome had stated that there was no sign of the Shikon shards that was supposed to be here. So, either they weren't here in the first place or someone had taken them. Maybe it was because of the Shikon shards that the taijiya were attacked. Maybe there were some of the attackers that survived and ran away with the shards. If it really was orchestrated like we had theorized, then I could only think of one person who could be behind it…

~oOo~

We worked tirelessly on burying the dead taijiya, which seemed to take its toll on me. Amongst the corpses, there were both women and children. It tore at my heartstrings to see innocent blood have been spilt over the Shikon shards. It simply was too sad to reminisce about. I needed a break, needed to get away from the death that hung in the air.

"Excuse me," I said demurely.

I dug the shovel I was using into the earth and walked away. Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes, begging to be released. But I held them back. I didn't want to cry in front of InuYasha or Miroku.

I exited the village and walked down the rocky path that we had walked on hours ago. I glanced to my left and saw a meadow filled with yellow flowers. When we had passed by it on our arrival, I had only thought that it was a grassy plane since that's what grew closest to the pathway. Amongst the yellow flowers, I spotted Kagome and Shippō gathering some of the flowers. When I looked at them, Kagome turned around and saw me. I wanted to smile at her, but I couldn't find the energy to lift my lips up in a greeting. Instead, I turned my eyes back to the road and shook my head from side to side. The first tears began to flow from my eyes, feeling overwhelmed with sadness. I didn't want to cry. Closing my eyes, I held back a sob. Then I turned from walking into a sprint, trying to physically run away from my emotions.

"Aiko-chan?!" Kagome yelled after me, but I didn't stop running.

I could hear her holler my name again, yet her voice quickly disappeared when I ran into the forest, the trees shielding me from her voice. I kept running but soon stopped up. My body felt exhausted and fatigued. Breathing heavily, I leaned forward and rested my left hand on my slightly bend left knee while my right hand rested against the tree to my right. The tears were flowing freely now, nothing in me could hold them back. My face contorted into an expression of grief and I sniffled with the crushing feeling of grief and sadness. I felt awful with how grim this world seemed. So many people killed just so _someone_ could get their hands on those damnable shards. Where was the justice in that?

Wrath and fury replaced my grief and sadness; there was simply no justice in eradicating a village of people. In my infuriated condition, I clenched my right hand into a fist. I withdrew my hand from the tree and turned my attention to said tree. Then I tore my fist through the air towards the tree. I felt my yōki spike up from deep within me while my fist flew through the air and I roared out in anger. My yōki concentrated around my fist. And when my fist finally met the tree, I could feel my yōki tear through the bark and wood of the tree before my knuckles connected with the shattered bark.

The tree couldn't withstand the force behind my yōki-fueled fist, and I saw how my fist alone broke the thick trunk of the tree. The sheer force alone made the trunk shatter where my fist made impact. My yōki cut right through the trunk. The top of the tree fell away from me, while the momentum of my fist made the tree groan in protest. I even managed to uproot the tree partially with that single blow. Then the sound of the top half of the tree falling to ground echoed around me. I panted heavily still feeling absurdly angry about the unfairness of this whole happenstance.

I growled uncharacteristically and unintelligible before my lips finally formed words to my anger: "_WHERE'S THE JUSTICE IN THAT_?!"

I grounded my teeth against each other, still growling. My left hand formed into a fist as well, my nails digging sharply into the palm of my hand, and my right hand fell to my side, still forming a fist. I could still feel my yōki swirl in and around my right fist. The wish to punch something to smithereens was yet strong in me.

"Kew?"

I turned immediately around to face the unexpected sound. My yōki spiked, ready to punch at the newcomer, and I could feel my face morph into a wrathful expression.

But when my eyes landed on the small form of Kirara sitting a few feet away from me, I felt my wrath and anger leave my body in an instance. My yōki withdrew into the depths of my person, but my fisted hand still hovered in the air. I could feel my muscles in my right arm tremble with exhaustion and let it slump down to my side. Forcing myself to relax, my fisted hands unfurled.

I stared into Kirara's red eyes and saw the uncertainty in them.

"Kirara…?" I then said timidly.

I hadn't at all sensed her yōki, but now that I was beginning to relax, I easily registered it.

"Kew," she gently cried once more and slowly walked closer to me.

Suddenly my legs felt like jelly and I fell down to my knees in front of the small yōkai. She stopped up right in front of my knees and glanced up at me with her red eyes.

I dried my cheeks for tears, but more kept falling from my eyes. A choked laugh rung in my throat, wheezing out from my slightly parted lips.

"Look at me; I'm pathetic!" I said in a gruff voice.

Kirara twisted her head to the side, still looking at me with her red eyes while her tails swished gently against the earthy ground we were sitting on.

"If I'm feeling like this, you must feel more than awful seeing your whole village being killed," I then whispered to her.

While looking into her eyes, I saw her understand my words and saw the sadness those words invoked in her. With trembling muscles, I moved my right hand to her, letting it hover in front of her. She sniffed at my hand for only a second before she closed her eyes and bumped her head into my hand. Gently I let my fingers mingle in between her extremely soft fur, tenderly scratching her head in a comforting way.

"I'm sorry for your losses," I whispered down to her and felt more tears leak down my cheeks.

"Kew," she cried out gently.

Then she jumped up unto my lap and curled herself into a soft ball, purring gently.

I couldn't help the small scoff that I made.

"You shouldn't be comforting me, when it's you who've lost your friends and family."

Still purring, she looked up at me, her eyes shining with disagreement for my words. My lips lifted up at the corners.

_She has a gentle soul, just like Kagome_, I thought.

I let myself pet her soft fur, comforting her just as she was comforting me.

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**A/N: So, here's the new chapter. We've finally met Kirara. Seriously, I just love that little yōkai. She's simply too cute for it to be legal. Especially those small little **_**'kew's'**_** she make. Gosh, heart attack over here!**

**What do you think about this chapter? What about Aiko's reaction to the destruction of the village and her little sad/anger outburst her in the end? Let me know in a review, I really love to hear your thoughts.**

**Until next time, stay safe and I'm crossing my fingers that any of you or anyone that you love and cherish doesn't get infected by Corona.**


	25. Chapter 25 - An Unforseen Pep-Talk

**A/N: Hey y'all. I'm back again with another chapter.**

**First off, a big thanks to 1Onyxcat, Alice Cullen Hale1, scarlet.g.13, Vampyre Frost, Saragosa, TheImpossibleGirl321, XxsatanicteddybearxX, Ereneviana, and GallagherGirlLover5197 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam.**

**Next, a big thanks to moonlight1ify and Kagz419 for leaving a review; it feels good to be back and uploading this story again. I'm working hard on this fic.**

**Lastly, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my story and to those of you who has this fic on their Alerts.**

**Warnings: Light cursing, and a little bit of gore.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

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**Chapter 25 – An Unforeseen Pep-Talk**

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When I finally found my way back to the village, the sun had almost already set. The sky was slowly turning darker with every step I took, turning from a warm orange to a bloodred orange color where the sun dipped down over the horizon, with violet and purple painting most of the sky. Only furthest to the east the sky had turned completely black, not yet showing the white sparkles of the stars.

I was carrying Kirara in my arms, slowly approaching the still destroyed entrance to the village. When I walked through the destroyed gate, I let my eyes sweep to the side and saw that the others had finished up burrowing the dead. A small bundle of yellow flowers lied on top of each grave. A sorrowful sigh left my lips while I turned my head away from the graves. Kirara made a soft cry where she was in my arms. I petted her gently for a short while before I continued further into the village. My eyes swept the darkening place, looking for where the rest of our gang were.

I spotted a small house – barely untouched by the havoc of less than twenty-four hours ago – where light shone from its uncovered window. Figuring that the others were probably there, my legs moved towards the building. When I was almost at the entrance to the hut, which was covered by a piece of curtain with light shining down from underneath it, I heard InuYasha holler.

"Hey, you promised me extra ninja food!"

It was shortly followed with a reply from Kagome, who sounded more than annoyed with InuYasha's antics: "That doesn't mean that you have to eat it all at once!"

"Here we go again," I heard the muffled voice of Miroku, and could clearly depict how he was sighing with that statement.

"And why the hell not?!" InuYasha yelled loudly, "I'm starved, and this stuff is great!"

Then I could hear some scuffling in the little hut, followed by Shippō wailing in distraught: "HEY! That's my food!"

"Not anymore," InuYasha said smugly, sounding quite satisfied with his statement.

"InuYasha," Kagome said in a berating manner, "You can't just take Shippō-bō's dinner!"

"I just did!" InuYasha responded aggressively to Kagome, "If you don't want me to eat his, then make me another!"

"That bowl is for Aiko-chan when she gets back! Are she supposed to starve just to satisfy your hunger?!" Kagome yelled at him, clearly upset with how selfish she thought InuYasha was.

Then the next words took my breath away: "It's not like she's gonna eat it anyways!" InuYasha said determinedly.

I didn't like his statement. Silence followed his spoken words, and I could almost hear Kagome think about what InuYasha had just said.

"W-what do you mean?" Kagome said in a low and confused voice.

This time, Miroku joined the debate: "What he's saying is that Aiko-san hasn't eaten a single bite while she has been traveling with us."

More silence followed Miroku's words, and once again I could clearly guess that Kagome was thinking about what had been said.

"B-but there's never been any leftovers from her…" Kagome began to state, still in a low and puzzling voice.

This time, InuYasha answered her: "That's because she's been giving her food to me!"

"What!" Kagome hollered, "And you just took it?!"

"Yeah, what do you expect? If she ain't gonna eat it, I'm not gonna let the food go to waste. Especially not when she's wavering it in front of me!"

I felt like a knife was being stabbed into my stomach. Each word made me realize how obvious it had been – me not eating. But I couldn't help it. Ever since … since I had entrapped myself inside my mind, I haven't had any appetite. I just couldn't get myself to eat when I didn't feel hungry.

"B-but she did eat when we were back home…" Kagome said uncertainly.

Once more, Miroku spoke up: "Did you actually see her eat anything there?"

There was a pause in the conversation, which made me think that Kagome was thinking back to when we were back at her place.

"N-no, I didn't…" she answered Miroku's question, then she added: "This doesn't add up… Usually, Aiko-chan eats almost as much as InuYasha does… And she would definitely not pass by okonomiyaki and gyudon, which are her favorite dishes… kā-san made us that when we got back."

I could easily detect the worry in Kagome's voice, which made me fret about her worrying about me. I didn't want her to be worried about me; she had enough to be concerned about without me adding to it.

That's when I decided that I had listened enough to their conversation. I glanced down at Kirara who seemed to be able to feel my unease. She was looking up at me with concern. A timid cry came from her like she was trying to ease my nerves.

I nuzzled her closer to me to whisper into her ear: "Go get something to eat…"

Then I placed her down on the ground in front of the entrance. She quickly turned around to look at me with questioning eyes, like she was asking me if I wasn't gonna join them. I shook my head in a negative response, then I turned around and let my feet carry me away from them.

"Kew," I heard Kirara mewl at me, but I didn't turn around to look at her.

~oOo~

I found myself sitting on the roof of one of the still intact huts, staring longingly up at the night sky. The black sky was littered with small white stars, twinkling gently down at me. The moon was a soft crescent, on its way to become full. I sighed heavily, letting my eyes close for a few seconds before I opened them again to look up at the silvery crescent moon. I didn't know what was wrong with me. My world had turned completely upside down since I happened to fall into the well with Kagome that day about two months ago. I was no longer the same person as I was before. I wasn't human any longer. And my world was thrown off-axis ever since I'd traveled with Sesshōmaru. It didn't make anything better when I got reunited with Kagome. Ever since I split from Sesshōmaru, I couldn't eat nor sleep. I always felt a tug in my heart like I was missing someone important.

I had an inkling feeling of who that person was, yet I wouldn't accept it. I couldn't accept that I missed being with Sesshōmaru. All I wanted was to forget about him, but my heart wasn't in it. It kept pestering me with its stinging and tugging, always reminding me that he existed.

_**Why don't you admit it already?**_ Gin asked me in my mind.

I sighed with her statement. If I admitted it, it would mean that I would admit that Sesshōmaru had taken a piece of my heart.

_I can't, Gin… It isn't right for me to feel the way that I feel…_

I could hear her sigh at me, which made me chuff at what her sigh meant.

_**You're gonna stay miserable until you accept it… You care about him!**_

This made me kind of angry. Letting my lower arms rest against my bend knees, I grabbed at my hair and tugged at the dark blond strands in annoyance. My head hang in between my slightly parted knees and I groaned out in frustration.

"For fuck's sake, I can't!" I growled out in a desperate manner.

"Can't what?"

I froze in my position for a few seconds. Then I let go of my hair and turned my head to the unexpected and unwelcomed arriver. At the edge of the roof stood InuYasha, his red suikan and hakama standing out in sharp contrast to the surrounding darkness of the night while his silvery hair gleamed with the gentle rays of the moon.

I let out a sigh and closed my eyes: "Nothing…"

I hoped that it would end the conversation before it began. But against my hopes, he came over to where I was sitting and sat down cross-legged next to my left. I could feel him look at me with inquiring eyes. Sighing hopelessly, I opened my eyes and looked at him, my arms crossing over each other on top of my knees. I then leaned my head against my crossed arms and stared into his shimmering golden eyes. It was silent in between us as we looked into each other's eyes, trying to figure the other out.

"Why are you here?" I asked him when I felt the silence was too annoying to let continue.

It didn't give me the result I thought it would.

"Why're you here?" he tossed back at me, his tone a bit more biting than mine was.

I huffed out in annoyance and glanced away from him. My head turned slightly away from him to let my gaze land on the graves against the palisade.

"Trying to think…" I replied in a whisper.

Silence filled the space between us once again, and at that moment, I hated the silence. I could feel the impatience rolling off of InuYasha like he expected me to do all the talking.

With annoyance, I groaned.

"Why do you care?" I asked him, hearing how my annoyance laced my tone.

"Tch, I don't," he said nonchalantly.

I could hear him shuffle behind me and swept my gaze back to him. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head, staring up at the dark night sky.

Then, to my surprise, his eyes softened when he whispered: "But Kagome does…"

His words tore at my heartstring; I really didn't wish for Kagome to worry about me.

I let out a sorrowful sigh and closed my eyes: "I know," I whispered.

"Then do something, so that Kagome doesn't go around worrying about you!" he bit out in frustration.

My eyes opened and swept over to his resting form, seeing his eyes were closed.

"That's what I'm trying to do!" I hissed out in annoyance of my dilemma.

"Why do you think I'm out here, thinking?" I then asked him in the same tone of voice.

"You tell me," he said nonchalantly while he kept his posture.

"Argh!" I growled out in frustration and got up from my position.

I walked over to the other end of the roof, creating distance between me and InuYasha. There, I stood with my arms crossed over my chest while I looked down at the ground below me.

"It's not that easy, InuYasha!" I hissed out between my clenched teeth.

I opened my eyes and let my gaze turn to the crescent moon on the sky, trying to find some form of strength from its soft light. Silence spread in between us once more while I stared up at the soft glowing moon, reminiscing in its radiant light. I couldn't but think of Sesshōmaru while I looked at the moon; its crescent shape reminded me of the mark on his forehead.

My reminiscence was interrupted by InuYasha when he sighed and said: "Look, you need to figure it out sooner rather than later. Your mood is affecting the others, and we need to be at our best!"

His forwardness made my lips tug a bit at the corners; he was so blunt that I couldn't help it.

This time when I let out a sigh, it was lighter in it. Though it was still not that easy for me to just accept all that has happened around me.

"I'm trying," I said softly, looking back down at the ground.

Then I added in a thoughtful manner: "But for me to become … me again, I have to accept…"

I stopped up mid-sentence. I had almost said _'to accept my feelings for Sesshōmaru'_, which would have been disastrous to admit that I had feelings for said daiyōkai.

"… and I just can't," I whispered timidly.

I heard InuYasha get up from the roof and take a few steps towards me, but I didn't turn my eyes towards him.

Then he said: "You can't change the fact that you have yōkai blood in your veins!"

Those words reminded me that I wasn't who I thought I was. That was something that I needed to accept as well.

"You're right," I whispered and turned my torso towards him so that I could look at him.

He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest. Then he gave me a resolute nod, like the problem had been solved. His stance relaxed as he turned around to face the hut where the others were sleeping. But before he walked towards it, he glanced over his shoulder at me once more.

"Let's head back and get some sleep."

With that he jumped off of the roof and walked towards the hut. My gaze swept up to the crescent moon one last time before I too jumped off of the roof and headed towards the hut. While I glanced at the moon, my thoughts drifted to Sesshōmaru. Did I really care about him in the way that Gin thought I did?

I wasn't sure. Though I was surer of that, I would be quicker about accepting my yōkai blood than I would be about accepting those impossible and improper feelings.

InuYasha was awaiting me at the entrance to the hut, holding the curtain back for me from inside the hut. When I stepped inside, he let go of it and softly dropped down right next to the opening. He grabbed a hold of the Tessaiga and hugged it into his chest while he leaned up against the wall, choosing to sleep in that position.

I glanced at Kagome's sleeping form. She was lying in her sleeping bag with Shippō resting at her head on top of her black hair. Kirara was sleeping near the small smoldering fire that burned in the middle of the room, while Miroku rested against the wall like InuYasha was. My eyes drifted over to the empty sleeping bag that lied right next to Kagome, ready for me to use it. It appeared that Kagome had made sure that I had a sleeping bag to lie in and had prepared it for me to use.

With silent steps, I walked over to the empty sleeping back. Disposing my waraji at the end of it, I lied down on top of it, not feeling like sleeping inside it. I lied on my back and stared at the ceiling, not feeling tired at all. My mind seemed filled with different thoughts, especially thoughts about what I should do about me and my feelings about Sesshōmaru.

My thoughts were then interrupted when something light walked on top of me. I looked down and saw that it was Kirara. She was standing on my stomach, looking at me with her enticing red eyes. I moved my right hand down to gently pet her soft head, which she responded to by closing her eyes and purring softly. She then lied down on top of my stomach, continuing her soft purring. Her purring seemed to calm my thoughts and I found myself grow tired. Slowly my eyes grew heavy and they began to close, and I found myself drift off into dreamland.

~oOo~

"Aiko-chaaa~n… it's time to get up…" Kagome said softly to me, gently shaking my shoulder to coax me awake.

But I wasn't ready to get up; I felt more than comfortable where I was.

"Ngh… Don't wanna~," I mock cried and shuffled into a tighter ball.

The movement made me shuffle Kagome's hand off of my shoulder, at the same time, I hugged the sleeping bag I was lying on closer to my chest.

"But breakfast is ready," Kagome said patiently.

I just grumbled unrecognizably, burrowing my nose into the sleeping bag. The sudden desire for the sleeping bag would smell like nature after rain with a hint of cinnamon filled up in me and made me disappointed that it didn't have that scent.

"Kew," came the gentle mewl of Kirara, yet that wasn't enough to make me get up.

Then I heard Miroku say in a soft voice: "Let me try, Kagome-sama."

I didn't pay any attentions to his words. But I got the wish that I had and just gotten up when Kagome first tried to awake me. Because suddenly I felt a masculine hand on my right buttock, groping at it in a tender manner. My eyes opened up immediately, his touch an unwelcomed gesture. Anger was flowing in my veins in a split-second. In the same instance I clenched my left fist and sat up. In the same fluid motion, I tore my fist through the air, aiming for where I thought his face was.

He was lucky though, because I stopped my defensive attack when my fist was a fragment of an inch away from his nose. I looked him in the eyes, my green ones narrowed in a furious manner and gleaming with anger at being awoken in such a manner. His indigo-colored eyes showed his shock of my abrupt movement, and his hands were up in front of his person in an innocent manner – he was showing me his palms.

"Next time," I growled at him, letting my fist hang in front of his nose, "I won't hesitate to break your nose, _hōshi_!"

Cold sweat formed on his forehead with the threat I made. Then he nodded vigorously like he understood the message. Then suddenly, InuYasha hollered with laughter, clearing the tension that had been created. His laughter was soon followed by Kagome giggling and Shippō snickering. It appeared that the others found the threat funny. I let my fist drop to my side and then gave Miroku a smirk. This seemed to make him feel relieved if the gentle sigh from him was an indication of such. He closed his eyes and rested his left hand over his heart.

"Now that you're awake, would you like some breakfast?" Kagome asked me hesitantly.

Her tone made me shift my gaze over to land on her. She was kneeling beside me, right next to Miroku's left. In her hands there was a bowl of instant ramen with steam rising from the bowl. She also had a pair of chopsticks in her hand. My eyes sought hers out, and I could see the worry she had in her normally friendly brown eyes.

I barely registered that Miroku left my side to sit somewhere else, but I did manage to catch the movement of his kesa and koromo. Yet my focus was on Kagome and her question. I had to admit though, I still didn't feel that hungry. But if me eating would lessen Kagome's worry, then I would force myself to eat the bowl she had for me.

I gave her a smile and righted my position so that I could eat.

"Yeah, thanks, Kagome-chan," I said cheerfully.

Her worry seemed to disappear in the same instance. She gave me a brilliant smile and gave me the bowl of instant ramen and the chopsticks. I accepted it and felt the warmth penetrate through the thick plastic bowl.

Then I stared deeply into the bowl, seeing the steam rise from the noodles and hot water within it. When the smell of the chicken flavored broth hit my nose, I felt my stomach gurgle with sudden hunger. The hunger made no room for patience, and I dug my chopsticks greedily into the bowl to satisfy my hunger. I stuffed the scorching hot noodles into my mouth and almost swallowed them without chewing on them. At least I didn't get burned by the hot noodles.

In no time at all, I had literally inhaled the ramen and drunk the hot chicken flavored water. While I ate, I could feel their eyes on me, but I ignored them completely, too much in a hurry to appease my empty stomach. When I was done with the ramen, which I consumed in record time, I sighed with contentment. But I still felt hungry, so I looked up from my empty bowl and over at Kagome. She had stopped eating and looked like she had been caught by surprise by me devouring my ramen.

"Is there more?" I asked nervously.

She blinked a few times seemingly trying to figure out what I had said. Then she closed her eyes and gave me one of her gentle smiles.

"Of course," she said happily.

Then she opened her eyes and they shone in a tender gleam, "Just give me a minute to prepare another one…"

"That's not fair!" InuYasha hollered with discontent, "How come she gets seconds?"

Kagome had just unwrapped another bowl of instant ramen when she shifted her gaze over to InuYasha, her eyes narrowing with annoyance.

"Oh, suck it up, InuYasha!" she deadpanned.

She quickly shifted her gaze away from InuYasha and poured hot water into my second portion of instant ramen. My gaze was fixed on the bowl of ramen while I hungrily awaited my ramen to be ready.

"Can I have seconds?" InuYasha asked in a curious manner.

"You're not even done with your first!" Kagome yelled in response to his inquiry.

I became curious with how InuYasha would react to Kagome's statement, so I shifted my gaze up to look at him. His golden eyes shifted from Kagome to the bowl he had in hand. Then, to my sheer surprise, he moved the bowl of ramen to his mouth and swallowed the rest of its contents in one go.

With his bowl now empty, his mouth was filled to the brim with noodle and soup making his cheeks pouch with the content. I really wanted to laugh at the face he made, but I held it in.

He swallowed what he had in his mouth with a big and loudly gulp.

Then he looked at Kagome with an inquiring gaze and said: "Now?"

Kagome sighed heavily with his question but seemed to comply to his wish.

"Alright…" she said defeatedly and began to ready another bowl of ramen to the hungry hanyō.

"Can I get seconds as well?" came Shippō's childish voice, quickly followed by Miroku saying: "I wouldn't mind another as well, Kagome-sama."

Another resigned sigh came from her, but then a gentle smile spread over her lips while she readied two more bowls of instant ramen. When they were all ready, she handed me my bowl of ramen, and I thanked her.

While I ate, this time at a more deliberate tempo, I couldn't help but appreciate the atmosphere that surrounded us. It was pleasant and nice, and I finally felt like I belonged with the group.

~oOo~

After breakfast, we all walked around the area of the taijiya fort while Myōga explained the purpose of the fort.

"This fort also served as a workshop…" Myōga said.

He was on InuYasha's left shoulder and spoke loudly so that we all could hear him. On InuYasha's left were Kagome with Shippō on her right shoulder. Both their attentions were on the little flea yōkai. Miroku was walking on InuYasha's right, and I was walking on Kagome's left. Kirara was in my arms, purring gently.

The others shifted their gaze, following the same view of line, so I turned my gaze in the same direction. It was the hut, which's roof I had been on top of last night that they were looking at. I could see that it functioned like a blacksmith, with an open wall to let out the heat from working inside one. If I squinted my eyes, I could see bones and carapaces, as well as odd-looking hides on a leatherworking bench.

"The bones and shells of exterminated yōkai were made into weapons and armors," Myōga said in his old man's voice.

I couldn't help but think how that was possible. Didn't every mononoke who were slain turn to dust?

"Myōga-jīji?" I asked, still looking at the workshop with questioning eyes.

We all stopped up and I shifted my attention over to look at the little black speck I knew were Myōga: "How is it possible to harvest bones and carapaces, when a mononoke turns to dust when they've been slain?"

I could feel the others' eyes on me, like they hadn't thought about it.

"Ah, an excellent question, Aiko-chan," came Myōga's satisfied comment, "You see… No one really knows… But, what I've heard and been thinking, it has something to do with the touch of humans…"

It sounded confusing: "What do you mean?"

Myōga was ever patient in his explanation: "What I mean is, upon the death of a yōkai, before it dissolves into dust, if a human touches it, it will not become dust and stay in the mortal realm within its original form…"

I understood what he was saying, but I couldn't grasp around the concept. How come the touch of a human made the yōkai stay in the mortal realm?

I asked: "I do get what you're saying, but how does the touch of a human affect the process?"

"No one knows, Aiko-chan…" Myōga said gently, "… and it isn't clear if it has anything to do with the touch of a human… but evidence points towards it…"

I nodded solemnly to his response. It didn't seem that the answer would get much clearer than that. When we had come to an agreement, so to speak, we continued onwards on our journey out of the village. Yet when I thought about the concept that humans had something to do with a yōkai not turning to dust, I couldn't help but wonder if human blood would have the same concept.

"Myōga-jīji," I said once more.

Everyone stopped up again and looked at me, while I looked at Myōga, quickly formulating my question in my mind.

"So, what if the mononoke has human blood in it? Like it isn't a full-blooded yōkai… would it work the same as a human's touch?"

The air around us all became heavy and poignant. This was obviously an emotional question to ask. But I had to know; would I disappear into dust when I died?

Myōga sighed heavily, signaling that he was thinking about a response to my laden question.

Then he responded: "There aren't any evidence for or against it. Not many yōkai mate with humans. I personally only know of InuYasha-sama, who isn't a full-blooded yōkai. And InuYasha-sama is very much alive and not about to die anytime soon."

I nodded to his response, indicating that I was done with the subject. Though I hadn't gotten a concrete answer to my pondering, I felt somewhat satisfied with what I had gotten.

I could feel InuYasha's eyes on me and shifted my gaze up to meet his. His golden eyes showed me that he knew the last question I asked wasn't exactly minded on him, but on me. Even though the question consequently also included him. Without meaning to, I had made him think about what would happen to him when he would meet his end.

With my eyes, I gave him my apologies for making him think about it. He gave me a small nod and led us all out of the village, though I didn't follow after them immediately.

Kirara mewled at me, and I glanced down at her. Her head was turned up towards me with her red eyes gleaming with encouragement. I gave her a tender smile and petted her head, making her purr louder in my arms. Pushing my thoughts out of my arms, I ran to catch up with the others, then followed them while Myōga verbally guided us to our destination.

The heavy air that had once been around our group dissolved when Myōga continued his storytelling.

"The leftovers of their remains were then taken to the edge of the village…" he said.

Then we reached the mouth of a cave, where we all stopped up just when Myōga said: "… and left inside this limestone cave…"

The cave looked dark and ominous, and it felt like the cave had seen many an encounters with yōkai and mononoke alike. I could almost feel yōki reside from inside the cave, like a remnant of old times.

I was standing beside Kagome when she whispered: "This is… where the Shikon no Tama was born…?"

I looked at her and could easily see how uncomfortable she was about being here. Trying to comfort her, I placed my left hand on her right shoulder, giving her a friendly reminder that I was here for her.

"Are you alright, Kagome-chan?" I asked her softly with Kirara giving her one of her famous small "Kew."

Kagome shifted her gaze over to me and said in a tentative voice: "It doesn't feel right…"

Then she shifted her gaze away from me and looked inside the cave.

I was just about to say something when she hollered annoyedly: "Wait a sec!"

Looking inside the cave, I could see Miroku – with Shippō on his left shoulder – and InuYasha had already headed inside.

InuYasha glanced over his shoulder at us: "Come on Kagome! Aiko, too!"

Kagome ran in first, hurrying up to where the boys were. I only waited a second or two before heading inside as well, though I didn't run.

"You want to go in!" Kagome yelled at them, clearly not happy with going inside.

Miroku glanced at Kagome when he said: "If you're scared, Kagome-sama, then cuddle up to me…"

"Bastard, you're thinking dirty stuff again, aren't you?" InuYasha barked at Miroku with his head slightly turned towards the monk.

While they had their little discussion of sorts, I glanced around the dark cave while I walked. Inside the mouth of the cave lied discarded bones, skulls, and intestines, all coming from yōkai. I lifted my arm up in front of my face, using the sleeve of my black osode to cover my nose and mouth. Yet, to my surprise, there wasn't any smell. Though the sight of all those bones were horrifying to say the least.

I could feel the weak residue of old yōki residing in the remains that lied scattered at the entrance to the cave.

The others were walking slowly, so I easily caught up to them. Kirara had moved up to sit on my right shoulder looking intently into the depths of the cave. And I could understand why she was looking so intent. Because in heart of the cave, there was something really disturbing to look at. It looked like a horrendous fusion between the upper part of a human female and a disfigured alien-like yōkai. The yōkai looked like it had mutated from many different kinds of mononoke, with carapaces, disfigured skulls, and other weird and nearly indescribable appendages. What looked like thorny tentacles were wrapped around the lower torso of the human woman, who had a gaping hole in her chest where her heart should have been. The hole tore right through her body; you could see right through her and she the back of the cave. Again, I could feel the old residue of the yōkai's yōki, though the woman didn't have any yōki. She was human!

We all stopped up at the foot of the monstrosity, looking aghast by the monstrous view in front of us. Kagome gasped and Shippō yelped in fear, while InuYasha and Miroku both came rigid in their postures. Kirara's fur bristled and I could hear her growl at the mummified mononoke in front of us.

"Wha… What is this…?" InuYasha asked in an appalled manner.

Then he asked Myōga in a hard tone: "Tell me, Myōga-jīji, this is…"

But before InuYasha could finish his question, Myōga interrupted him: "…just what it appears to be."

I could see InuYasha become annoyed at the flea yōkai. His attention shifted down to his left shoulder where he looked at the small black speck that was Myōga with a harsh glare.

"I'm asking because I can't figure it out!" InuYasha bit out with frustration at Myōga.

Then Shippō butted in: "You don't know, do you?" in a deadpanned manner.

My attention shifted away from them and over to Kagome when she said: "A yōkai mummy…?" with uncertainty.

"You think… it's a yōkai?" Miroku asked Kagome, though his attention stayed on the abomination in front of us.

Then I replied Miroku's question for Kagome: "It's definitely a mononoke…"

I let my gaze shift up to the woman.

"But her…" I said and lifted my left index finger to point up in her direction while I kept my arms crossed over my chest, "She's a human!"

I could feel Kagome's attention turn to me when she hollered: "Human?" in askance.

Knowing that she was looking at me, I nodded and hummed in acknowledgement to her question.

"How can you tell?" I heard Shippō ask me nervously, his tone pitching up in shock.

My head turned to Shippō, who was clinging himself to Miroku's left shoulder, and let my eyes rest on the small form of the kitsune.

"I can feel the traces of the yōkai's yōki…"

Then I glanced back at the woman with the gaping hole in her chest: "…but she doesn't have a yōki…"

"I believe that Aiko-san is correct," Miroku said in a thoughtful manner, "And I bet this is not something the taijiya would talk about."

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**A/N: I'm sorry if this chapter seemed to be more of a filler, but I think it suits quite well here. I've just realized that I tend to make small typos in my A/N's. Apologies for the end-A/N from last chapter. It was meant to be 'doesn't get affected' and not 'gets affected'. I've corrected it now. So, I'm really sorry if I've offended anyone; it wasn't my intention.**

**But any who's, I would love hearing your thoughts on this chapter. Did you like it?**

**Stay safe and I'll be back next Sunday with another chapter. I can promise you all that it's gonna be action-packed and it may leave many of you surprised at the turn of events.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Okonomiyaki**_** – A Japanese version of a pancake made with flour, yam, and egg, where you can add anything that you like. Usually it's with green onion, shrimp, beef, vegetables, squid, mochi, and/or cheese. It's cooked on both sides. (I've tried it and really love this stuff!)**

_**Gyudon**_** – A Japanese dish which consists of rice, topped with beef and onion cooked in a lightly sweet sauce (which is made from dashi, soy sauce, and mirin). It can also include shirataki and tofu. It's usually served with beni-shoga (tanned ginger), and you can add raw egg and/or shichimi (mixture of peppers) and accompany by a missoshiru. (It's okay.)**


	26. Chapter 26 Dokufun and Miasma

**A/N: Hello again! I'm back with a new chapter. Like I said in the previous chapter's end-note, this chapter is action packed. Also, I will warn you that it's not quite like the manga, but you'll see where the difference is when you get to it.**

**But first off, a big thanks to mothedman, MoranaAsteria, victoria cullen35, Racershane, and SweetSnow01 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam.**

**Next, a big thanks to Kagz419 and Guest for your reviews, and to Guest who asked about Rin: Rin first appears in vol. 14 and we are currently in vol. 10, so it's gonna be a while before she appears in the story.**

**Lastly, thanks to all of you for taking the time to read my story** **and to those of you who has this fic on their Alerts.**

**Warnings: Mentions of blood.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

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**Chapter 26 – Dokufun and Miasma**

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"I'm talking to you, InuYasha," Miroku said in a firm manner.

We had been walking for hours through the forest west-bound of the taijiya fort.

"Why don't we take a little rest, huh?" Miroku added to his first announcement.

"Hnn?" InuYasha said in askance, turning around to look at the hōshi.

His face became a bit harsh when he answered Miroku's question: "You're the one who wanted to go to the castle and talk to the guys there."

That was true… When we had been to the cave at the outskirts of the village, Miroku suggested that we headed for the castle where the other taijiya had headed to on a mission, to see how they fared. And that was where we were headed now. Through this forest we were in now, which was quite overgrown. It made the air inside it feel warm and humid.

"I'm just saying, if we continue walking like this, Kagome-sama wouldn't be able to handle it," Miroku said resolutely.

"Miroku-sama…" Kagome muttered, sounding surprised.

This made me look over at Kagome, and I could see that see indeed looked tired. Small droplets of sweat covered her forehead which made her black front locks plaster itself to it.

"You tired, Kagome?" InuYasha asked her.

"Well kinda…"

She looked crestfallen when she added: "I didn't sleep much last night…"

That statement made me feel guilty. Hearing her say that she didn't get much sleep made me believe that it was my fault. Because I hadn't been able to eat before this morning and hadn't come back until late last night.

"So, I'm tired, and hungry as well," she added in a pondering manner, looking at InuYasha with begging eyes.

"Wha…" InuYasha began like he hadn't expected her to say what she did.

But after just a second, he looked at her with a hard look and said: "You're such a selfish girl."

This made me look at him with anger. Kagome was anything but selfish.

"Huh!" Kagome said surprised, then her beautiful face morphed into one of anger and she yelled at him: "What's with you?! I've been putting up with it until now!"

She moved into his personal space, leaning her face in close to his while she continued to yell: "Besides which, I'm just an ordinary human girl, aren't I! If I tried to follow your pace, I'd die!"

InuYasha looked shocked when she yelled at him right in his face. Like Kagome's verbal assault wasn't enough, I added in a yen of my own. With my left hand, I slapped it against the back of his head, physically saying that I didn't like him making Kagome upset. His head moved forward with the movement of my slap against his head.

"Auch!" he exclaimed and rubbed the back of his head.

He looked at me with his right eye – his left eye was closed – and looked like he was about to yell at me as well. But he didn't get a chance to do so.

"Pay a little attention to other's needs," Shippō said in a belittling manner, sitting on Miroku's left shoulder with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest.

Miroku looked almost angry when he said: "Don't try anything fancy! Like, say: 'I love you', or 'I'm in love with you'."

I looked at Miroku with bewilderment; when had InuYasha said anything like that?

Myōga squeaked in surprise and then jumped up on InuYasha's nose.

"InuYasha-sama! When did you say that?!"

This clearly aggravated InuYasha.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled at Myōga, making him jump off of his nose in fright.

Suddenly Kirara perched herself on my shoulder and looked in the direction we were headed towards before this unexpected conversation had begun. I looked in the same direction as Kirara was. The sound of something fast – which sounded like it was cutting through the foliage of the forest – was coming from that direction, approaching us quickly.

And then it emerged, or rather, the giant object tore through the trees like they were easy to cut through. On instinct, I dug down, narrowly avoiding it. My hand landed on top of Kirara's head, to keep her down while the object flew over our heads.

A scream of fright came from Kagome and I felt panicky for her safety. Before I could react, I heard the object fly back towards us, though this time it was far over our heads. I righted my position and hastily shifted my gaze over to look at Kagome. A sigh of relief escaped my lips. InuYasha had reacted quickly and had made sure that she didn't get harmed. He was standing protectively over Kagome, with a hand on her upper back. Then he stood up and looked in the direction from where the object had originated from.

I looked in the same direction as well and saw the object being caught by a young woman. It was a giant boomerang that had cut down the trees, clearing out the path between us and the woman.

"So, you're that bastard InuYasha, huh?!" the woman asked, though her voice was muffled by the mask she had over her mouth.

She looked like some kind of fighter. With her black jump suit of some kind, and protection gear covering her shoulders, elbows, hands, abdomen, knees, and shins. All the protection gear was pink, giving her outfit a feminine vibe. She had a wakizashi on her left hip, secured in place by a red sash. I could only see her eyes on her face, which were a brown color, the rest was covered by the strange mask she was wearing. She had long dark brown hair which was tied up into a tight ponytail. In her right hand, she was holding the giant boomerang.

"I'll exterminate you!" she then exclaimed; her voice filled with hatred.

"What…" InuYasha said with surprise, then Myōga added just as surprised: "S-Sango-san!"

Kirara mewled nervously on my shoulder, and I couldn't help but wonder if she knew the fighter from the taijiya village.

"Is she from the taijiya village?" Kagome asked Myōga in a rough tone.

"Kew," came Kirara's timid mewl, like she was saying that she knew the woman with the giant boomerang.

Then the woman threw her boomerang at us, yelling: "Hiraikotsu," when she released it.

On pure instinct, I jumped out of the way when I saw the boomerang heading towards us. At the same time, I heard Myōga shout at InuYasha.

"InuYasha-sama, don't fight with Sango-san!"

Which InuYasha responded to in kind: "This ain't the time for that!"

Then he roared: "Tessaiga!" shortly followed by a might *clang*.

I glanced over my shoulder at InuYasha and saw that he had drawn Tessaiga, the weapon had turned into its great fang form. The Tessaiga and the boomerang were locked with each other, but the force from the boomerang was so great that it managed to push InuYasha backwards a few feet. His naked feet uprooted the undergrowth with thick dust billowing up in the process.

Then I heard Miroku yelled with bewilderment: "The Tessaiga was pushed back!"

At that moment, InuYasha managed to repel the boomerang, which flew up high into the air. I couldn't help but be astonished with the strength of the woman.

"Doesn't look like we can talk things over, does it?" InuYasha bit out with irritation.

My gaze shifted back to the woman who had attacked us and saw her catching her boomerang, once again holding it in her right hand. Her left hand was clenched into a determined fist while she looked intently at InuYasha.

Quickly I glanced down at Kirara on my left shoulder and whispered to her in a hurried manner: "Get to Kagome-chan!"

She mewled at me, then jumped off of my shoulder and ran over to Kagome like I had told her to do. I then let my hand rest on the tsuka of Ōginsairensā, ready to draw it if needed.

That's when InuYasha moved the Tessaiga over his right shoulder, letting the blunt side of the mighty fang rest lightly on his shoulder.

"Wench, why are you attacking me?!" he yelled at the woman.

"Shut up, hanyō!" the woman sneered back at him, obviously not wanting to talk to him.

Why was she so determined to fight InuYasha?

We had never met the woman before…

"I want revenge for all the villagers!" she yelled fiercely and threw her boomerang once again, the weapon heading straight towards InuYasha.

_Revenge for all the villagers?_ I thought in puzzlement. Did she know that the taijiya village had been attacked and that no one, but Kirara, had survived?

The boomerang tore the earth up in front of InuYasha. He yelled up in surprise, trying to avoid the weapon.

"We need to do something about that weapon!" I could hear Kagome shout with urgency, shortly followed by Miroku hastily saying: "Got it."

Then he yelled: "Kazaana!" and the tell-tale of wind howling filled the air around us.

I quickly jumped away from the range of Miroku's Kazaana before it could tug me towards him. My gaze shifted over to the boomerang that was pulled off-course. It twisted around in the air, heading towards Miroku's open palm where his Kazaana resided.

But then, to my horror, buzzing from dozens of insects filled the air and then I saw giant wasp-like creatures surround the boomerang, flying towards Miroku's Kazaana. I could feel the wasps' yōki, and that's when I realized that those were Saimyōshō; the same insects that Naraku had lend to Sesshōmaru. So, Naraku was involved in this shenanigan! I should have known.

"Naraku's poisonous insects!" Kagome shouted in disbelief.

"Don't Miroku! If you suck them in the poison will get you!" Shippō shrieked fearfully at Miroku.

I suddenly felt another yōki, which resided behind the woman. Quickly, I swept my gaze back towards her, and that's when I saw him: Naraku. He was crouching down behind the woman, wearing a white baboon cloak like he had done when I had met him the first time.

Deeming it as a good time, I drew my ōdachi from its saya and held it up in front of me with both of my hands on the tsuka.

Then I sneered with vehemence: "Naraku!"

The boomerang flew back into the woman's welcoming hand, once again holding it at the ready in her right hand – prepared to throw it at us once more.

I felt a deep-running hatred for Naraku; he was the reason behind all of our problems involving the Shikon no Tama. The yōki that resided deep inside of me stirred to life, ready to course through my veins and empowering me at a moment's notice. I knew that he was behind the attack on the taijiya village! He had to be! There wasn't any other who could have done it.

He simply was a manipulative bastard who was hellbent on ending InuYasha's life and get the Shikon shards. I was more than certain that he had manipulated this young woman into fighting InuYasha. I had to take him out!

"This ends here and now!" I heard InuYasha roar in anger.

My attention was purely on Naraku, trying to come up with a plan on how to bring him down.

"Finish him quickly, Sango-san. The effect won't last much longer…" Naraku said in a calculating tone, directing his words to the woman in front of him: Sango.

She sneered in reply: "I know that!"

Then she threw her boomerang at InuYasha, yelling: "Hiraikotsu!" when she released her mighty weapon.

But InuYasha avoided the boomerang, jumping over it and Sango, while he raised the Tessaiga over his head.

"Naraku!" he roared while he swung his weapon down in a fluid motion towards Naraku, ready to cleave him in one hit.

Yet, at the last second, Naraku disappeared from the spot and InuYasha only met the earthy ground with his blade. I tried to scan the area for Naraku's yōki, but my attention turned to InuYasha once more when he yelped out. Sango had thrown a chain at his right ankle, pulling at it to impair his movements.

She yelled angrily at him: "Your opponent is me!"

InuYasha quickly got up from his prone state and bellowed back at her: "You wench! Get out of the fucking way or I'll kill you first!"

This was no good, we couldn't get to Naraku while Sango kept fighting against InuYasha!

Sango raised her right arm, ready to throw her boomerang at InuYasha again. That was when I decided that I had to divert her attention away from InuYasha, so that he would be able to go after Naraku.

"Just you try!" she yelled at him and released her boomerang.

I struck then. While I sprang into action, I sheathed my ōdachi and tried to grapple her. I came up from behind her and wrapped my arms around her torso, forcing her arms down in the motion. Then I wrapped my hands around the other's wrist, locking her in place with a tight grip. She struggled incessantly when she felt my arms around her while I tried with every bit of strength I had in me to immobilize her.

"What are you doing?!" she yelled at me wrathfully, struggling ever harder to get out of my hold.

I grinded my teeth against one another; she was strong and made it harder for me to hold her down.

Groaning into her ear, I bit out: "We aren't your enemies! Naraku has been deceiving you!"

"You're lying!" she sneered bitingly at me.

"I'm not!" I roared at her, still struggling to keep her grappled.

"Naraku was behind the attack on your village!" I bit back at her.

She kept struggling in my hold, and I could feel my fingers slip from my wristlock; I wouldn't be able to hold her down much longer.

In a hasty manner, I growled into her ear: "He made those yōkai attack your village. Only so he could get the Shikon shards you kept there and to pit you against us!"

My fingers slipped and her right hand was now released. I tried to grab her hand while I yelled at her in desperation.

"For Kami's sake! We buried them all! To give them peace!"

I only just registered that her free hand dug in under her protection pad over her abdomen and pulled something out from it.

"Fuck…" I bit out through clenched teeth and let completely go of her.

I tried to jump away from her. But before I could get away, she tossed the object to the ground…

"Dokufun!"

It hit the ground and a thick gas sprung up from the ground. It surrounded us completely and I gasped in surprise. Before I could do anything, I had breathed in the gas and felt it fill my lungs. They began to burn with a sharp pain, taking me off-guard. I coughed, trying to expel the burn in my lungs, but it made me only breathe in more of the gas, making them burn even more. My legs gave out under me, and that's when I realized that it was poison I was breathing in to my lungs. I began to choke on the gas and knew that if I didn't get away from this gas cloud, I would die by asphyxiation and poisoning. But I couldn't get my muscles to work with me.

Suddenly, the yōki that had been at the ready when I had seen Naraku sprang into action. It coursed through my veins – feeling like ice ran in my veins – and directly to my lungs. I could feel how my yōki fought against the poison within me, trying to clear my lungs so that I could breathe again. Yet it seemed like it wasn't enough to overcome it. I felt my mind become hazy with the poison slowly creeping into my head. It felt like I was going to pass out.

Then to my astonishment, even more yōki erupted from deep within me. In an instance, I felt it overcome the poison within me. But the yōki that now ran throughout my body seemed to overwhelm me. I couldn't contain it. Every fiber within me vibrated with the extreme power of my yōki, quickly taking over my body. When the yōki reached my head, I felt it take over my mind. I grew numb, yet at the same time, I felt a single-minded purpose take form: Kill Naraku!

That's when I heard his voice: "… I'll be waiting at the castle."

My muscles moved on their own accord, and I got up from my semi-prone position I had been in. In the same motion, my head snapped in the direction from where his voice had come from.

At first, all I could see was the thick poisonous miasma that surrounded me. But then I zeroed in on his yōki. His yōki was like a ruby haze that surrounded him as well as the Saimyōshō he was surrounded by. I didn't give a single thought to the Saimyōshō, though I knew that they were basically insects. Yet, they didn't give me the sense of fear that I was used to get from insects.

It was quickly pushed out of my mind as I jumped out of the miasma that was surrounding me. There was so much power in my legs that I soared up into the air, almost like I was flying. But I knew that I couldn't fly, which quickly got proven when I felt gravity kick in and push me down to the ground again. Just when my toes met the ground, I kicked off of the ground again and soared into the air once again.

I had no idea of where I was headed, only that I was following Naraku's yōki. There was only the thought of killing him coursing through my mind. I was gaining in on him.

When there was only a few feet left between me and Naraku, I felt an approaching yōki. I didn't need to turn my head around and look at the newcomer to know that it was not an enemy. My feet touched the ground one more time and I jumped up into the air. This time, I prepared to swipe my claws at Naraku. Flexing my fingers, I zoomed towards him at an incredible speed. Then I attacked. My right hand swiped at him in a downward manner. Slashing through the Saimyōshō who happened to be in the way of my attack. My claws tore into his bamboo pelt, making the cutoff pieces of it scatter with the wind. He looked at me; I could feel how his attention shifted from getting away and over to me. While in midair, I grabbed a hold of his pelt with my right hand to pull me up towards his torso. In the same motion, I prepared to slice at him with my left hand, my claws already prepared to slice him to pieces.

Though it seemed that he had anticipated the attack. As I was about to slash at him with my left hand, he grabbed a hold of my left wrist to parry my attack. But my reactions were incredibly fast. What felt like slow-motion, I let go of his pelt I had grabbed with my right hand and curled it into a fist. While he was still parrying my left-handed attack, he didn't have time to react to the right-handed fist. My fist connected with his face and I could feel how the bones underneath his skin groaned with the impact. A satisfied smirk appeared on my face and I felt my yōki flare up with exhilaration.

Then I felt how the air around us shifted, indicating that we were about to fall down. I quickly moved my body. My right hand moved away from his face and over to his left shoulder, which I used as a platform for the maneuver I was about to do. I pushed against his shoulder, forcing him to turn in the air so that he would fall head first to the ground. Within the same instant, I pulled my knees up towards my chest and placed my feet against his chest. Fueling my yōki into my feet, I pushed them against his chest, forcing him to fall to the ground at a rapid speed. At the same time, I pushed myself away from him, tearing my left wrist out of his grip. I could see how he fell towards the ground, my sight functioning like infrared vision; I could see the ruby haze – his yōki – that surrounded him move away from my person.

In midair, I made a backwards somersault, to then let gravity take me down to the ground. I landed in a semi-crouched position; my right foot met the ground first, making the earth compact with the impact and forcing my knee up towards my chest. My left foot was the next appendage to land on the ground, which got forced to the side by gravity, though I used the gravity-induced movement to my advantage. I swept it behind me in a sideways arc that tore at the earthy surface and made dust rise from the ground. My left foot came to a stop behind me, forcing my heel upwards so that I was standing on the front of my foot, with my left knee almost touching the ground. My landing ended with my hands touching the earthy ground on either side of my right foot. I could feel how my claws tore into the earth to stop my body from being pushed backwards. When I was steady, I whipped my head up and looked at the place where Naraku should have landed.

But to my dismay, he hadn't crashed into the earthy ground like I had hoped for. Instead, he was now standing about twenty feet away from me. He was in a light crouch and had his focus solely on me. His yōki revealed to me the form he had taken. Thick and wiggling roots had emerged from underneath his baboon pelt.

"Aiko," he said in a faux pleasant manner, "what an unexpected surprise."

I stood up from my semi-crouched position, a grim expression on my face.

Just then, the before-approaching yōki landed behind me and a pair of feet landed on the ground beside it.

"A-Aiko-san…?" the newcomer asked with uncertainty.

Recognizing the voice, I turned my head to look over my shoulder. Though I didn't see Miroku, I knew it was him. Instead of seeing his corporeal form, I saw an aura emerge from within him, which wasn't a yōki. The aura appeared to me as a grey colored haze. Beside him, stood the yōkai I recognized as Kirara. She was in her fighting form and her yōki rolled off of her as a sapphire colored haze.

My gaze swept back to look at Naraku again, seeing the ruby haze rolling off of him in waves. Further away from him, I registered a dozen yōki moving away from us, but I didn't give them more attention than that. I zeroed in on Naraku again since he was the nuisance that needed to be dealt with first. I heard a pair of feet hastily move over to me. Though, before they could stop up beside me, which I felt was their intent, I moved my left hand out to the side like a signal for them to stop. They stopped immediately, yet I could feel that they didn't want to do so.

"Aiko-san! You can't fight him on your own!" Miroku exclaimed desperately at me.

I kept my eyes on Naraku, but this time, I chose to speak to the hōshi.

"_**Stay back,**_" I said in a calm voice that was laden with my yōki, "_**There's poisonous miasma within his body.**_"

Kirara growled fiercely, seeming to be unhappy about the situation. Then I heard Naraku laugh villainously at my calm statement.

"So, you can sense that, hmm? But it's not like that's gonna help you, Aiko. After all, it's poisonous, like you said," Naraku said in a calculating manner.

At his statement, I gave him a confident half-smirk. His poison wouldn't be able to faze me – my yōki would make sure of that. I flexed my fingers, showing off my claws. And then I charged him. I knew that he anticipated my attack, but that was my intentions.

He shot his roots after me, which I dodged with ease. But what I hadn't anticipated was for him to continue extent his roots. I could sense the yōki in them and knew where they were headed. That's when I heard Kirara roar fiercely at the same time that Miroku exclaimed when he blocked one of the roots that had targeted him. He had fooled me into believing that he would fight only me and had used me as some kind of perverse decoy. I became filled with rage which fueled more of my yōki throughout my body. His actions made me hate him even more; he had no sense of honor!

"Did you really think I would fight fairly?" Naraku taunted me.

I didn't stop up in my charge – I could only hope that Miroku and Kirara could defend themselves until I had destroyed him.

When I was right in front of him, I could feel his yōki shift and I knew that even more roots had appeared from underneath his pelt, attacking me. With my razor-sharp claws, I sliced through them easily. Then I extended my hand, claws at a poise, ready to strike it through his chest.

But to my horror, I heard Miroku cry up in pain, indicating that Naraku had gotten through his defenses. Miroku's cry made me waver in my attack. This gave Naraku an opening that I hadn't meant to give him, and he took advantage of it. A rogue root wrapped itself around my throat, trying to squeeze the air out of me. I groaned with the discomfort of feeling my windpipes being constricted. My hands landed on the root around my throat, trying to loosen its constricting grip. Then he chuckled at me while he extended his root out and away from him, creating distance in between us so that I couldn't reach him.

"You think that you can defeat me so easily, Aiko? Even with your yōki, you aren't a match for me!"

Just as he had said that, I felt multiple stings into my neck. It felt like I was being pierced by thorns. Then I felt those thorns release his poisonous miasma directly into my bloodstream. I cried out when it felt like my veins were on fire. My yōki flared up even more, fighting off the poison he was giving me.

Another sinister laugh came from Naraku, thereafter he said: "Intriguing. It seems like your yōki is able to fight off my poisonous miasma… But I do wonder how far that ability goes…"

Even more poison was released into my veins and this time I roared in agony. My yōki kept growing in power and I could feel how my body had difficulty to contain it. I closed my eyes, trying to keep myself together while my body felt like it was on fire and coming apart.

That's when I registered that my yōki was transforming my body; my fangs elongated to such an extent that they were unable to fit in my mouth. Opening my mouth, another roar tore up through my throat while my fangs seemed to grow longer still. Then I felt how my claws became longer and sharper still. The pain in my body was almost overwhelming and I could feel my consciousness begin to slip.

No! I couldn't let myself succumb to Naraku's poison!

With the remaining willpower I had left in me, I tore my claws into the root around my throat. When I did this, I let my yōki flow through my claws and into the root. I could sense how my yōki tore through his yōki within the root. The pain within me lessened with the action of pumping my yōki into the root, yet immense pain was still rippling within my body.

I was surprised when I felt the root combust with the force of my yōki. The thorns that were jagged into my skin dissolved and I was now free of the root, no longer being strangled. I gasped with the release and felt the air rush into my lungs. Then I felt how my knees connected with the ground underneath me; I hadn't even realized that I had been held up in the air by his strangling root. Breathing heavily, I tried to overcome the pain within me. At the same time, I tried to reel in some of my yōki. With the amount of yōki running through my veins, I wouldn't be able to decimate Naraku.

While I worked on containing my yōki, I felt a yōki most welcome. InuYasha had arrived. With him here, we would definitely be able to take down Naraku. When it felt like I had enough control over my yōki, I got up from the ground and jumped backwards. I ended up standing beside InuYasha.

Though to my discontent, I could feel how my body felt weakened. The amount of yōki that had run through my body had taken its toll on my body. We had to end this quickly before I would succumb to exhaustion.

"Aiko?" InuYasha said in a questioning manner.

I knew what he wanted to ask me, and I glanced over at him with a tired gaze. When my eyes rested on his form, I could see his yōki shining in a silvery color, but it seemed somewhat blurred. While I looked at him, I saw how his corporal form became clearer while it seemed that his yōki was simpering down. We were losing time!

"_**Alright for now… We need to do this quickly!**_" I said in a resolute manner and shifted my gaze back to Naraku, hardening my glare.

His corporal form seemed to become clearer as well.

"InuYasha, still alive, huh?" Naraku said in a calculating manner, then added: "It seems, Sango… failed to bring you down."

"Naraku… You bastard! You sent a swarm of yōkai to the taijiya's village and destroyed them."

I could hear the harshness in InuYasha's voice when he spoke to Naraku.

"Heh… All I did, was to call the taijiya-fighters to the castle…" Naraku said in a deliberate manner, making a pause for dramatics, "… and send the yōkai a message."

"You bastard…" InuYasha sneered in response.

"You were after the Shikon shards in the village?" Miroku exclaimed with anger.

The longer this conversation continued, I would end up being unconscious when we got to the fighting. My body trembled with fatigue and I was forced down to my knees. I let my fingers dig into the ground in aggravation, feeling how my claws were slowly retracting.

Someone squatted down behind me, and I felt a pair of hands landing on my shoulders. I glanced over my shoulder and saw that it was Miroku. He didn't say anything; he only looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Oh… You're well informed," came Naraku's words, spoken in a faux surprised manner, "Yes… in the midst of that chaos, taking them were simple."

His words were pissing me off to no end, and I let myself become angry. The anger fueled my yōki once more, withholding the fatigue I was feeling for the time being. Gently, I pushed Miroku's hands off of my shoulders and slowly got up from my kneeled position. I was ready to tear out Naraku's heart.

"Naraku!" Sango shouted, her voice filled with animosity and skepticism, "The yōkai at the castle… was that also just a trap?!"

I looked over at where her voice came from. She was kneeling right beside Kagome near a tree. That's when I scented her blood. She was bleeding profusely.

"Of course," Naraku said calmly, "Also… I was simply dealing with the taijiya before they became a nuisance in the future."

This clearly angered Sango, as well as me.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" she yelled and got up from her kneeled position, her boomerang at the ready.

I could see how the blood dripped off of her when she got up and got confused with how she withstood the pain she truly must've been in. But then, in the next second, she flinched and fell down to her knees. I could see the pain within her eyes.

"Heh, had you continued to believe InuYasha was your enemy, you would have died content, thinking you had completed your revenge…" Naraku said in a taunting manner.

At his taunting words, I whipped my head back to look at him, and without giving any thought, I charged him. I could sense InuYasha right beside me, doing the same thing as I was.

"YOU'RE ALWAYS DOING THAT! TAKING PEOPLE'S HEARTS AND…" InuYasha yelled at Naraku with innate fury.

Naraku jumped away from our charging forms. Though InuYasha easily followed his movements, it threw me off course. I wasn't in the best fighting condition anymore, and I knew that when my yōki was drained, I would lose conscience. Even now I could feel my yōki depleting rapidly.

"What's the matter, InuYasha? Does it remind you of what happened with Kikyō?"

Naraku was taunting InuYasha, which resulted in InuYasha cutting his head off while he roared: "CUT THE CRAP!"

Naraku's head flew away from his body, landing a few feet away from it. Even though his head was cleaved clean off of his shoulders, I could still feel his yōki flowing freely within his body and decapitated head. This wasn't over yet…

"Fu, fu, fu," Naraku's head laughed and then his body began to move on its own accord.

InuYasha just managed to jump out of the way of a slamming root. Then multiple roots shot through the air, heading towards InuYasha and Miroku… and me. I only just managed to duck under the roots headed towards me. My body felt heavy and sluggish when I moved. But I had to get rid of Naraku. While I kept dodging the roots targeting me, I tried to focus on where his yōki was at the strongest. This situation reminded me somewhat of when we were fighting Yura of the Hair. Her body had after all just been a puppet itself, and no matter what harm we did to it, she had continued to fight just as strongly. My guess was that something similar could be applied to Naraku. With his head severed, he should have been dead. Yet his head was still laughing, and his body was slamming and charging its wiggly roots after us.

It was difficult to zero in on his yōki while I had to dodge these attacks. That's when I decided that I needed to get out of his reach and give myself some time to focus. Fueling some of my quickly depleting yōki into my feet, I jumped up high into the air. This seemed to do the trick. With the little time I had left before I would come back down to earth, I zeroed in on his yōki, concentrating hard on figuring out where it originated. Like a beacon, his chest seemed to shine the brightest. His yōki resided where his heart should be.

_I got you now!_

With the last bit of my yōki, I turned in the air and charged at him, flying through the air like a projectile headed for his chest. I stretched my right hand out in front of me, my claws at the ready. I came closer and closer, but I could feel how my claws were retracting with every feet I came closer to my target. I had run out of yōki.

"Gin!" I exclaimed in a panic, fearing that my actions had been a folly.

I came closer still, but there was no response from her.

Closing my eyes, I screamed my lungs raw with desperation: "GIII~N!"

Just when I was a few feet away from Naraku, I felt her within me. It was like I had woken her from a long slumber. But when I felt her, I felt my yōki spike, warming my entire body up like I had been doused in fire. My nails turned into claws, ready to tear through his chest with my gravity-induced velocity. I opened my eyes with relief and that's when I could feel my claws dig through his baboon pelt and in through his chest. I struck true.

It was like time slowed down while my hand tore through Naraku's chest. I felt how the pelt and every fiber and tissue parted for my advancing claws. Then they met something wooden where his heart should have been. I could feel how his yōki tried to prevent my claws from cutting through the wooden object. But it was unsuccessful to prevent the inevitable. My claws slashed right through the wooden object. In the same instant as the object was cut in half, I felt how his body crumbled underneath me. Then I came crashing down to the ground, not having planned out how I would land.

I could feel how Gin's yōki tried to protect my body from the inevitable skittering across the earthy ground I would make, but it wasn't enough. Stones and dirt tore at my clothes, tearing holes into them and scratching my skin. It hurt and I screamed with the pain I felt of being scraped over the majority of my body.

What felt like an eternity later, I finally came to a stop. My body felt broken and unrepairable. The agony that coursed throughout my body was enough to make me die and I welcomed the exhaustion and darkness that enveloped me.

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**A/N: That's that for now. How was it? I bet none of you expected Aiko to go "feral", so to speak. What's your theory? I'd love to hear what you think about this change. Anyways, that's that for now. Stay safe everyone.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Dokufun**_** – Poison dust.**


	27. Chapter 27 - Electric Blues

**A/N: Hey, I'm back again with another chapter. This one isn't as action-packed as the previous, but nonetheless important to the plot.**

**But first, a big round of appreciation from me to all of you. Welcome to the fave-fam: Kiwimari and Tennyo Ch'ang-O; I really appreciate that you've favorited my story. And to Kagz419 and Guest, thanks for the reviews. And, of course, thanks to you all for taking the time to read my story.**

**Warning: Emotional outburst.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Now, enjoy the newest chapter:**

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**Chapter 27 – Electric Blues**

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"_What are you … that you were able to draw the Tessaiga?" Sesshōmaru asked her in a cold tone._

_Kagome took a step back and held the Tessaiga in front of her defensively: "D-don't come any closer! I'll slice you!"_

This seemed familiar to me, like I had experienced it once before. But I couldn't remember from when or where this moment was from.

_I could feel that I was paralyzed. Fear filled my person. Fear for Kagome's safety. I heard myself shout internally at myself to move, but I couldn't._

"_Get away from her, Sesshōmaru! She's not a part of this!" InuYasha yelled at Sesshōmaru while he ran towards them._

"_InuYasha!" Kagome screamed desperately as she glanced past Sesshōmaru and at him._

Wait a minute! Was this back when we were fighting against Sesshōmaru within the remains of his and InuYasha's father?

"_Alas, I'm afraid that she is," Sesshōmaru lifted his right hand up in front of him and it began to glow a sickly green color, "merely by being your companion."_

_Then he struck his glowing hand towards Kagome; "My talons bid you … Goodbye."_

_Kagome became enveloped in the poison from Sesshōmaru's hand._

Why was I experiencing this again?

_I felt my lips move as I whispered: "No," while I felt the salty stings of tears streaming down my cheeks._

_Then I felt my legs give out underneath me, and another "No," whistled out from in between my lips._

_Like I was experiencing it for the first time again, I felt my body be gripped by grief. My hands flew up to my dark blond hair and I could feel myself pulling harshly at my locks. More tears fell down my cold cheeks while I grieved the loss of my best friend._

_Then I felt something primal come over me. I felt how every vein inside my body became filled with rage. A savage roar of agony ripped through my throat, letting them all know how much pain I felt. My temperature rose as my blood ran fiercely in my veins._

_Then I registered something that I hadn't registered the first time. I felt a yōki stir from deep inside of me. It felt cold and deadly, and I felt how it took control over my body._

_I rose from my kneeled position and slowly pulled out Ōginsairensā from its saya. Another happenstance occurred that I hadn't registered the first time. When I had wrapped my hand around the tsuka, it send off electricity. The electricity ran up and down my hand and arm, but I couldn't register any pain from it. Though I knew that it should hurt me; I could smell how the electricity was burning my flesh. It was like Ōginsairensā was resisting me, but I didn't know why. Yet I ignored the electricity and slowly shifted my gaze up. It landed on Sesshōmaru._

_This time, I was able to see him – both his corporeal form and his yōki which surrounded him like a ruby aura. Then his yōki swallowed him whole, and all I saw was his yōki, shining in a bright ruby color._

_I charged him. My body was filled with rage. He was at fault for Kagome's death._

_He seemed to had anticipated my attack and jumped, trying to evade my attack. But I jumped after him. He landed on one of the big ribs with me landing in front of him a second after. I had my side to him, and quickly made another attack. Taking a sideways step towards him, I slashed my sword at him in a sideways arc. He dodged my attack by taking a step back and lean his torso backwards. My sword passed by his nose tip with only a fragment of an inch to spare. Then I saw him flex his claws, like he was readying them for an attack. With lightning speed, he struck his claws after me._

_I dodged the attack by moving my right shoulder backwards. That's when something happened that was new for me. In rapid session, he swiped his claws at me, which I evaded by continuing to flex my upper body backwards. Left shoulder back, right shoulder back, left shoulder back…_

_Then I felt I had had enough of the dance and jumped down from the rib. This gave me more room to work with while I fought against Sesshōmaru. He followed after me. While he was in midair, he coated his right hand with his poison and targeted my head. I saw the incoming attack, and at the last possible second, I duck down under his poisonous claws while I turned my blade upwards, aiming for his chest. Yet again, he dodged the attack. He twisted his upper torso away from my ōdachi._

_I registered how the electricity that ran up my arm intensified, and this time, I felt the sharp sting of it. It felt like thousands of needles were piercing my skin simultaneously in rapid session. My lips made a grim line, the only indication of pain I showed. I proceeded with my fight against Sesshōmaru like the pain didn't faze me. In quick session, I struck my ōdachi down towards him in an overhead cut._

_*CLASH*, *CLASH*, *CLASH*, came the sounds when my blade met his claws as he used them to parry my attacks._

_Trying to right my stance, my balance faltered for a split-second. He took advantage of the situation and struck out with his poisonous claws, aiming for my head once again. I avoided the attack by leaning back over. He had almost gotten me with his attack, his poisonous hand hovering over my face. It was so close that I could smell the acrid burn. While I was leaning backwards, I swung my blade in an upward arc, starting at my lower right. This made him jump backwards in order to avoid my attack, creating the distance in between us I needed. With haste, I righted my stance so that I wasn't in such a vulnerable position. But he quickly advanced on me, striking his left hand out against me, his claws poised and at the ready. This time I jumped backwards, creating space in between us. The sound of bones being crushed met my ears when I landed back on the ground._

_He charged me once more, but I was ready for the attack. I made a downward slash. Yet instead of parrying or dodging my attack, he thrusted his left hand forward and grabbed a hold of the blade. Instantly, electricity shot up the blade and up his arm, my ōdachi trying to make him let go of it by its own volition. I tried to pull Ōginsairensā free from his hold, and I could hear how the blade began to cut into the palm of his hand before he was able to hold it still. The cut I had made began to bleed, his crimson blood slowly running down the blade of my ōdachi, coating it slightly with his ruby liquid._

_I could easily smell his blood. My yōki flared up with vigor and I felt exhilarated. Finally, I had managed to draw blood from him. Something deep inside of me wanted more of it, needed to draw more blood from him. He had killed Kagome, and he needed to pay in kind, by giving up his life to me._

"_**KILL!**__" I growled out with hunger._

_Hunger for his crimson blood. I wanted to bathe my blade in it, bathe myself in it. It felt almost euphoric to fantasize about draining him completely for blood._

"_Aiko!"_

_I stopped up immediately, surprised at the sound of that voice. It couldn't be possible. I saw her being killed by Sesshōmaru's poisonous claws._

_I turned my head in the direction of where the voice had come from. Astonishment filled my person at seeing Kagome stand there, unharmed, clutching the rusty blade to her chest. At first I didn't see her corporal form, but that changed immediately. She was staring at me with shock written over her face. But I couldn't figure out what she should be shocked about. All I could think about was that she was alive, and I felt myself be filled with relief._

"_Kagome-chan?" I whispered breathlessly._

_Then I felt exhaustion taking over me. The bloodlust that had been fueled by my yōki disappeared, and my yōki withdrew completely, leaving me drained of energy. I took a step towards her, yet my sight began to turn black. Unconsciousness was winning._

"_You're alive," I whispered tiredly, my voice hoarse._

_I felt myself fall forward, and then I had fallen into oblivion._

~oOo~

But instead of falling into oblivion, like I did in my memory, I woke up. I sat up immediately, gasping after air. I felt weird. This was clearly a memory I had reexperienced, yet something about it threw me off. It was like some of the pieces to the puzzle had been missing, only to be found and mend the holes in the puzzle.

Back in the remains of InuYasha's and Sesshōmaru's father, I had been fighting Sesshōmaru, which I only had an inkling idea of that I had. And to my surprise, if the memory was true, I had matched him in strength and speed. It was bewildering to think me as a match to Sesshōmaru. He was probably the most powerful yōkai I would ever encounter in my life.

I had to verify my dream/memory with InuYasha. He was there and had probably seen me fight Sesshōmaru, so he would be able to confirm if my newfound discovery was true.

Then I pondered on the feeling of my yōki in that battle. It wasn't like Gin at all. When I let myself be merged with her, the yōki I felt running throughout my body felt warm and welcoming. The yōki I had experienced had felt cold and almost murderous. It was such a sharp contradicting feeling that I couldn't help but wonder… was it perhaps my mother's bloodline…? _It_…?

_Gin?_ I thought, trying to reach out for her in my mind.

But I didn't get a response; she seemed to be out of reach at the moment. Maybe I had exhausted her…

That's when I remembered that I had fought against Naraku, and that the yōki that had filled me in the majority of the battle hadn't been Gin's. It had been the same cold yōki as the one from my memory dream.

"Kew."

That groggy mewl of Kirara pulled me out of my musings and I glanced over at where I heard it from. Kirara was lying in a small ball near the head of a young, brown haired woman, who was currently out cold.

_That's… Sango_, I thought, remembering her from the confrontation.

Kirara had her eyes closed, but her ears were perched, angled towards me.

"Stay here, Kirara," I said and pushed away the blanket I had over me.

She gave a soft little purr as her response. I got up from the sleeping bag I was lying on top of and stumbled over to the door opening. Pushing the curtains to the side, I winced when the sharp light shone directly onto my face and into my eyes. Sometimes I really hated how harsh the sun could be with its lifegiving rays of light. I lifted my hand up in front of my face, shielding my eyes from the sunlight. There, I stood for about a few seconds until my eyes had gotten used to the light. Looking around with my hand still shading the sun, I saw that we were back in the taijiya village.

Suddenly, I felt a splitting headache. I groaned out in pain while I leaned up against the door frame. My hand that had shades my eyes form the sun landed on my face, trying to ease the agonizing pain that was attempting to split my head in two. My body began to tremble with exertion. Apparently I wasn't fully recovered from the fight.

"Aiko-chan? You're up?!" Kagome said with astonishment.

Slowly I opened my right eye and looked at her quickly approaching form through a narrowed view.

"Sorta…" I whispered, wincing at how hoarse and cracked my voice sounded.

She stopped up in front of me and narrowed her eyes at me: "You aren't completely healed, are you?"

Her words were spoken in a lecturing manner, and I knew that she didn't approved of me being out of bed yet.

"Nn-nn," I replied in a negative manner, indicating that I wasn't.

She seemed to have anticipated my response and tried to usher me back into bed: "Then go get some more sleep!" she said resolutely.

"No can do!" I hissed out through clenched lips.

The pain in my head was almost unbearable and I closed my eyes in response to the agony.

"But you aren't well!" Kagome said desperately, still trying to get me back inside.

In a hurried manner, I pushed her hands off of me. I couldn't go back inside and sleep. I needed answers! And InuYasha was the only one able to give them to me.

"I need answers, Kagome!" I shrieked frantically, my voice cracking with the raised volume of my voice.

I opened my eyes and stared at her, right into her brown eyes. She took in a sharp breath, completely shocked by something. But at that moment, all I could think about was to get some answers to what was wrong with me!

"I need to speak with InuYasha!"

Yet no response came from her. I let myself concentrate on really looking at her. She was still frozen on the spot, shock still plastered on her face. It worried me that she hadn't batted her lashes at all while I stared at her. This wasn't like Kagome at all.

Before I could shake her out of her stupor, Miroku spoke from behind me: "Is everything alright here?"

His voice seemed to break the spell on Kagome, and she gasped desperately for air. Blinking multiple times in rapid session, she pulled her gaze away from me and glanced at Miroku. But only for a second. Her eyes landed back on me, dancing back and forth like she was taking in my eyes.

"Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked puzzled and reached out a hand towards her.

Though before it landed on her shoulder, she whispered: "Your … eyes…"

Still she wasn't looking away from me, and I kept my eyes on her. I didn't know what to do or how to react.

I heard Miroku walk over to stand beside Kagome. Then he looked into my eyes. I shifted my attention to him and looked into his indigo eyes, only to see that he was taken aback as well with what he was seeing. What was going on here?

"What is it?" I whispered, suddenly nervous of finding out what had them become so shocked.

It was Miroku who answered me: "Your eyes aren't green anymore…"

My heart hammered violently in my chest; _my eyes aren't green…?_

I looked at Kagome once again, and now I could see that see looked sad.

"They've turned into an electric blue…" came Kagome's sadden words.

This took my breath away. What was happening to me?

From me to relive an old happenstance where I had found out my yōki had been different from Gin, to now finding out that my eyes had changed color.

I took a step backwards but felt how much I was shaking. The movement made me lose my balance and my knees buckled with my trembling weight. Miroku acted quickly and grabbed a hold of my upper arms, catching me from falling. Though in order to catch me, he had to let go of his shakujō, which fell to the ground with a soft thud and the clinking of the rings clanking against each other and the golden head of the staff reverberated around us. My hands weakly grabbed a hold of Miroku's lower arms, trying to steady myself.

I could feel how worried they both were for me. But all I could comprehend at the moment was that I was changed.

"I-I need to see…" I mumbled breathlessly.

Almost immediately, I heard Kagome head inside the hut. Then the sound of her rummaging through her bag, tossing multiple different items across the floor, permeated through the air and met my ears. But I couldn't think. I could only feel how scared I was; I was terrified! The things that had happened to me ever since I fell through the well the first time with Kagome, had changed me on another whole new level. No one could ever anticipate such a change as the ones I had been through and was still going through.

Hastily I shifted my gaze up and immediately found the indigo eyes of Miroku filled with concern. I knew that he could easily see the horror I felt being reflected through my eyes.

An exclamation of success came from Kagome when she appeared to have found what she was looking for. Quickly she ran out of the hut and stopped beside us. I looked at her and saw how worried she was about me. Her eyes gleamed in question, wordlessly asking me if I was sure. I timidly gave her a nod. Then I tried to prepare myself for what I was about to see.

Slowly she turned the object in hand that she had hugged into her chest in a nervous gesture. When the object was turned, I could see that it was a mirror. Gradually I let my gaze shift up towards the reflective surface she was showing me. Just before I would be able to see my eyes, I closed them and took a deep, self-assuring breath. Then I opened them, and I looked right into the reflection of my eyes, which should have been the same, well-known green eyes that resembled my father's eyes. Yet the eyes that stared back at me were not those green eyes. Instead, they were foreign and shining in a brilliant electric blue hue. If it wasn't my eyes that had changed into that beautiful color, I would have liked them. But it was my eyes. Which horrified me. My feelings went haywire when I finally realized that those eyes were my eyes. I felt angry and grievous; I had lost something that always cheerily reminded me of my father.

I saw how tears gathered in the corners of my eyes while I stared in disbelief into the small hand mirror Kagome was still holding. When the first tear escaped, I tore my eyes away from the mirror and closed them tightly. Then the dam was broken. My tears rolled down my cheeks like a waterfall. A scream of despair tore itself from my throat, and all strength left my body. My legs finally buckled under my weight. Not even Miroku's supporting hands could hold me up anymore. I fell down to my knees, though I heard more than my knees meet the dusty ground. Miroku's hands disappeared from my upper arms, only to reappear tenderly on my shoulders.

My body shook with the screams of my internal pain, my throat cracking horribly with how each scream tore at my vocal cords. More and more I sounded like a screaming banshee from a horror movie. Suddenly I latched myself to Miroku's chest. I needed something warm and physical to hold onto, and he was the nearest living warm being. My hands clenched his kesa in between my fingers, desperately clinging onto him like my life depended on it. I felt how he, at first, stiffened at my clinginess, but slowly his hands wrapped around my shoulders in a comforting manner. Gently he hugged me to his chest, trying to console me.

I felt a soft hand land on my back, softly stroking up and down my back in a soothing manner. I knew that it was Kagome. But her soothing hand only seemed to make me cry harder. I felt guilty of being so consumed by grief and sadness in front of her. I didn't want her to worry about me, yet this was exactly what I was doing with this emotional breakdown.

Unexpectedly, her hands became more insistent, and I could feel how she tried to pull me away from Miroku and over to her open and welcoming embrace. I was too weak to try resist the pull if I had wanted to. My hands let go of Miroku's kesa and I let myself be guided over to Kagome's chest. As soon as I felt the fabric of her school uniform against my fingers, I desperately grabbed a hold of it and feverishly clung to it. Then I wailed out again in utter despair. Kagome urgently hugged me to her chest and softly patted my hair.

"Ssh, it's going to be okay," she said soothingly, doing everything in her power to console me.

While I was in her embrace, surrounded by her softness and warmth, my wails of despair slowly turned into demure sobs. I felt secure in her arms, and greedily sucked her warmth into my skin.

"What's all the wailing for?!" I suddenly heard InuYasha yell with annoyance.

His yell was soon followed by a small hand landing on my right upper arm.

"What happened to Aiko-chan?" Shippō asked in a timid and worried voice.

I could feel how Kagome wanted to answer Shippō, yet at the same time, it felt like she was unsure about telling him what had happened. Slowly, I tried to put myself together so that I could figure out what to do next. It felt like an eternity passed by before I felt somewhat ready to face the others. When I finally felt ready, I sluggishly pulled myself out of Kagome's embrace. Her arms loosened their hold on me but stayed at my elbows, giving me strength in the simple gesture of support. I held my eyes closed while I took a few steadying breaths. Then I opened my eyes and looked into Shippō's green eyes. They were darker than mine used to be. When Shippō met my gaze with his, I could see how frightened he was about the change. I didn't like that he reacted in such a manner and tore my eyes away from him, closing them hastily.

"Could anyone tell me what the hell's going on?!" InuYasha exclaimed with annoyance, clearly not liking to be left out on what was happening.

The others didn't respond to his question; I could feel how they were all focused on me. Readying myself to see how he would react to my change I slowly moved my closed eyes to where I knew he was standing – right behind Kagome. Then I opened them and stared into his golden eyes.

He didn't react to it at first, but then his eyes narrowed like he was thinking.

Without any emotional reaction, he tilted his head in a curious manner and asked: "What happened to your eyes?"

I closed my eyes once more and sighed heavily. Figures. Of course, he would be the only one to not react in a surprised manner. Sometimes he was really oblivious to what happened around him.

Sighing once more, I cracked my eyes open and stared down into my lap: "You tell me," I mumbled.

My throat felt raw after my screaming tirade. I needed to be careful with how much I spoke until I had healed a bit unless I wanted to lose my voice.

"So, what's the big deal? Your eyes is blue now… it doesn't mean the end of the world!"

His words hit a nerve in me, and I could feel how my yōki flared up; the cold and murderous one.

"I-InuYasha!" Kagome said, aghast by his choice of words.

Before she could say more against his uncaring words, I had gotten up from the ground. My muscles were still trembling with exhaustion, though my yōki made me able to control the overused muscles. When I was standing on my own two legs, I walked around Kagome and Shippō, so that I was standing right in front of the hanyō.

"**You don't get it!**" I growled at him, my yōki mingling into my voice.

I pointed my index finger at him in a purposeful manner and continued: "**I've changed since the first time I stepped a foot into this blasted time! And now I have lost something really important to me! My **_**green eyes**_** were the only resemblance I had to my **_**otō-san**_**! Now all I have is**_** Ōginsairensā! That's all I have left of him!**_"

I was more than mad about this situation, and I threw my disdain against his words right back into his face: "**I would bet a fortune that **_**you**_** look a hella lot more like your **_**otō-san**_** than your **_**okā-san!**_** At least you'll be able to see him whenever you look at your reflection! I don't have that anymore!**"

Apparently this struck a nerve of his because he yelled right back into my face: "How the fuck would I know?! I've never even met _him_! He kicked the stupid can before I was old enough to meet _him_!"

If I wasn't so angry, I might've paid better attention to what he had said. But I didn't listen to his words. I felt almost consumed by my maddening anger that fueled my cold yōki, and I had an unyielding wish to punch his guts out of him. But before I could act on my desires to beat InuYasha silly, I felt a pair of arms come up from behind and underneath my arms. They moved up until the middle of the underarms were parallel with my shoulders. Then the hands gathered behind my head at my upper neck, pushing my head forward. The elbows spread away from my torso, moving my arms out, making me unable to bend my arms at the elbow.

Then the owner of the arms spoke: "You need to calm down, Aiko!"

It was Miroku who had locked me in place with his armlock. I couldn't get out of it without breaking an arm in the process. Yet something inside my felt like it was ready to do so, if it meant that I could beat InuYasha into a pulp.

That feeling made me freeze on the spot; I was ready to harm myself just to hurt one of my companions. It was a horrifying realization that made my blood freeze in my veins. This thing inside me scared me endlessly. What if it chose to go after Kagome?

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I ever laid a finger on her!

I choked on my breath, feeling more than terrified by what resided within me. If I didn't learn to control this … _thing_ … inside me…

_What should I do?_

~oOo~

The sun was slowly dipping down over the horizon, turning from day into night. I was following Miroku while he led us to somewhere secluded. He had a theory about my change, and to make it short, it was tied to my emotions. More precisely, my anger. If I was able to put a damper on my anger, then he was certain that I wouldn't get those horrifying flukes in my yōki. The cold and murderous yōki we all had concluded was tied to my mother's bloodline.

We stopped up in the middle of a simple clearing that seemed to be secluded and quite peaceful. He turned towards me and looked at me with a calm expression.

"Have you ever tried to meditate before?" he asked me in a soft voice.

I was a few feet away from him, my attention only on him. I shook my head in a negative, indicating that I had never done so before. He nodded in response. Then he sat down on the grassy ground, sitting in the lotus position. His shakujō lied next to him on his right.

"Join me," he said while he closed his eyes.

I did what he told me to do and mirrored his position. Sitting across from him in the lotus position as well with only a foot's distance in between our knees. Though, I didn't close my eyes.

Like he knew that I was still looking at him, he sighed softly, exuding calm and tranquility after his soft exhale.

"Now, close your eyes and listen to my voice. I will guide you through the steps."

This time, I closed my eyes and exhaled a silent sigh, trying to absorb his tranquil aura into my being.

"Take a deep breath in through your nose," he said in a calm manner.

He took a deep breath in through his nose, and I followed his example.

"Count to four in your head while you hold the breath in your chest," he said, still exuding calmness.

I did as he said and held my breath, counting to four in my mind.

When I had counted to four, he said: "Then exhale slowly through your mouth, while you count to four again."

He exhaled while he slowly counted to four in a low voice. I could feel how the air diminished inside my lungs while I exhaled to his counting. When he reached four, I had the barest amount of air inside my lungs and I could feel that they began to slightly burn with the lack of oxygen.

"Then count to four before you take another deep breath in through your nose."

I followed his guidance. His voice had such a calming effect on me that I didn't mind the slight burn in my lungs while I counted to four again. When I reached four, we breathed in through our noses at the same time.

"Count to four while you breathe in."

And I did so. Counting to four yet again while I breathed in. Then I held my breath inside my lungs, mimicking his breathing to a T.

After I had exhaled and kept my lungs depleted to the count of four, I breathed in once more through my nose and listened to Miroku's calming voice.

"Feel how the air expands your chest… how the air fills your chest with life and peace."

His words, as well as the slow breathing, felt nice and peaceful, and I felt like I became light and free with each slow intake, break, and exhale. We continued for a while, and I felt how I became calmer and at ease while we continued with the breathing exercise.

"Good," Miroku said in an appraising manner.

I felt my lips quirk up in one corner, happy that I was doing it right.

"Now, you keep breathing like I've taught you to and listen to my voice."

Humming in agreement, I breathed in through my nose again. Then I kept the air in my chest, and he spoke once more.

"With your next exhale, I would like you to imagine your body become heavy, like you're being forced to the ground."

I began to exhale and felt how my body became slightly heavier with my exhale.

"Don't resist the feeling. It may feel slightly uncomfortable, but you will feel good as you proceed."

Miroku's voice was ever calm and pleasant to listen to. I continued with the preset breathing pattern we had established. When I exhaled again, my body became heavier still. I had to admit that it felt slightly uncomfortable.

When I exhaled for the fourth time after Miroku had told me to let my body become heavy, I felt like my body was almost making a crater into the grassy ground with how heavy my body felt.

"Good," Miroku said like he could feel how heavy my body had become.

"Now, with your next exhale, you will still feel like your body is heavy. But you will feel how your spirit will become as light as the air itself. Let your spirit soar up to the heavens with your exhale."

And just like he said, with my next exhale, my body remained heavy, but I could feel something in me become light and soar upwards.

Still talking in his calming manner, he continued: "You will feel how your worries and anger will leave your body. As it leaves your mortal coil, your spirit will keep rising to the heavens. Let the enlightenment fill your mind, body, and soul."

When I exhaled the next time, I felt how my anger left my body while my spirit soared up to the sky. I felt that I could touch the moon with how at peace I felt. But when I breathed in again, I found myself surrounded by darkness. I could no longer feel Miroku's presence in front of me. Instead, I saw a swirling aura.

I was frozen to the spot while I stared at the swirling aura. Then to my surprise, the aura solidified and took shape, though the shape was enveloped with the surrounding darkness. Suddenly the shape shifted, and I was staring into a pair of electric blue eyes. I gasped and felt myself fall backwards.

I felt how the air got knocked out of my chest when I landed on something solid. My eyes opened and I was staring up at the starry sky. It was nighttime.

"Are you alright, Aiko-san?" I heard Miroku ask me.

The shuffling of fabric indicated that he was getting up from his sitting position. I was breathing heavily while I kept staring up at the night sky. Then his face blocked out my view of the night sky, his face enveloped by shadows. I blinked as I tried to focus on his face.

"Well, something seemed to have worked…" he said in a thoughtful manner.

I couldn't find my voice, so I blinked in response to his words, still breathing heavily.

"… Your eyes are back to being green again," he then said, a kind smile spreading across his lips.

Relief filled my being with those words, and I closed my eyes, a smile spreading across my face. Then I opened my eyes again and looked up at Miroku with gratefulness. He had helped me get my eyes back to normal. If it wasn't for the shadows across his face, it almost looked like he had a gentle blush on his cheek.

"We should probably head back to the others. I have a feeling that it would be dinner time soon."

With that said, he righted his position, giving me a short glimpse of the stars above before an open hand flittered into my view. I looked at the appendage, then grabbed a hold of it, letting him help me up from the ground.

"Thank you, Miroku-sama," I said appreciatively for his help; if it wasn't for him, I would not have regained my green eyes.

"Don't mention it," he said and rested his arm against my lower back, "… but I think it would be good for you to try meditate at least once a day."

He slowly pushed against my lower back, leading us onto the path back to the taijiya village. His strides matched mine while we walked back, his hand still resting on my lower back. I didn't think about his hand's placement; I was simply too content with the peace I felt. Then his hand shifted to my waist and slowly petted my side. This made me blush since I hadn't expected it. But my surprise with his touch soon made me annoyed. I pinched the skin on the back of his hand, and he yelped with pain and let go of my waist.

"Don't do something stupid, hōshi!" I bit out with annoyance and walked a bit faster.

"Heh, sorry… habits, you know…" he chuckled out embarrassedly.

I stopped up and looked over my shoulder and saw his apologetic expression, his left hand scratching the back of his neck.

"Then maybe you should break the habit…" I deadpanned.

I then continued back to the village, knowing that he would be following me back.

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**A/N: So, what d'ya think? We learn a little bit more about Aiko, and I must say that I think it's a nice little plot-twist, so to speak. But anyways, let me know what you think, and I'll be back again next Sunday with another chapter. Stay safe.**


	28. Chapter 28 - The Noodle Queen

**A/N: I'm back with another chapter. This one was quite fun to write, especially the last part. You'll see what I mean when you get to it.**

**But first off, a big thanks to LenaMiaH, Lindell Alissa, Cat2k10, xoxonana, and jennap7662 for favoriting my story; welcome to the fave-fam.**

**And to Kagz419, thanks for the review. We all just know that Miroku can't keep his hands to himself! And I'm happy that you liked the chapter; it was quite emotional for me to write it – I really felt Aiko's despair when she saw the change.**

**Lastly, thank you all for taking the time to read my story; I really appreciate it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Now, let's get on with the chapter:**

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**Chapter 28 – The Noodle Queen**

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Kagome had been ecstatic seeing us return, and even more so when she saw that my eyes had turned back to their usual green color. We had eaten in relative silence, though I could feel InuYasha staring at me with apprehension. I really did owe him an apology. Also, I still needed to talk to him about that fight I had remembered.

When the others had gone to sleep, InuYasha had gotten up from his spot and headed towards the opening. I looked at him and saw that he had stopped up, a hand on the curtains while he held them aside. He was looking intently at me and I knew that he wanted to speak with me. I gave him a nod, wordlessly saying that I would follow him shortly. Seeing my nod, he gave one in return and exited the hut, the curtains gently shuffling back to their proper place.

Slowly I got up from my sleeping bag and stealthily went after him. I couldn't see where he was, but I could feel his yōki. Letting it guide me to where he was, I found him sitting on the roof of the blacksmith. The very same roof we had sat on and talked with each other days ago. I chuffed at the notion; it was like we had our own spot to talk in privacy. It was somewhat funny to think about.

I quickly scaled the walls and got up onto the roof, then I slowly approached him. He was lying on his back, his eyes watching the starry night sky. When I was only a few feet away from him, I sat down in the lotus position, facing him while he kept staring at the sky above us.

He didn't acknowledge my presence, but I knew that he knew that I was there. I had a feeling that he waited for me to start the conversation. Taking a deep breath, I slowly let it out like a soft sigh.

"I'm sorry, InuYasha," I said demurely, looking down at my lap, "I shouldn't have let my anger out on you."

He closed his eyes and chuffed out: "Tch, I'm not sentimental…"

I closed my eyes and sighed; he was really not an easy person to apologize to: "Even so, I shouldn't have said those things I said… It was cruel of me!"

I heard him shuffle on the spot he was in. Opening my eyes, I looked up and saw that he had sat up as well. Though, he wasn't looking at me.

"Well, it's not like I was any better…" he said softly while he closed his eyes.

Then he opened them and looked at me for the first time since we've gotten up on the roof.

"I didn't know how important the memory of your otō-san is, and how much the change would affect you…"

His golden eyes glimmered with an unspoken apology to his earlier harsh words. I gave him a gentle nod, forgiving him with the small notion. He gave one in return. Even though he didn't say _I'm sorry_, we both came to a silent agreement. It was good enough for me. Truthfully, I had something else I'd rather talk about.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something important," I said gently while I closed my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts.

He didn't say a word, waiting for me to speak my mind.

Sighing softly, I then asked him: "Back in your otō-san's remains… What happened?"

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He had a grim expression on his face, looking like he wasn't happy about the question.

"What I mean is… I've recently reexperienced my fight with Sesshōmaru, and I want to know what you saw during that fight… You are the only other one who knows what happened. Other than Sesshōmaru…"

"I know that!" InuYasha exclaimed harshly.

I stopped talking, feeling slightly hurt by his harshness. I just wanted to know what had happened exactly.

He sighed then said in a gentler manner: "I know that…"

Silence filled the air in between us while I waited for him to talk. The ball was in his courtyard, so to speak, and it was his move. He turned his attention back up to the heavens. I mirrored his movement and let my eyes rest on the beautiful white specks that was scattered across the black canvas of the sky.

Then after a short while, he sighed defeatedly: "When Kagome got covered by Sesshōmaru's poison, the air seemed to shift around us."

At his words, I shifted my gaze back to him. He was sitting with a thoughtful gleam in his golden eyes, staring at his clawed hands that rested in his lap.

"At first, I was…" he shifted his eyes up to meet mine, and I saw something that I wouldn't have thought I would see in his eyes.

I saw fear. An unadulterated and deep fear.

"I felt a yōki… a powerful one…"

His eyes shifted back down to his hands, and he silently swallowed a lump in his throat.

"It came from you…" he said in a breathless manner, "And when I looked at you … you had changed!"

I wanted to ask him how I had changed, but at the same time, I didn't want to interrupt his recount of what had happened.

"Then you attacked Sesshōmaru, and I could only watch…"

His eyes shifted up to me once more, his golden eyes hard to read.

"It was only when Kagome turned out to be unharmed that you stopped."

Time passed us by with no words spoken, and after a while, I finally forced myself to ask: "You said I changed… Explain it to me."

It took another minute or two for him to tell me: "You looked like a yōkai…"

I had a feeling that he wasn't referring to Gin… and I was right: "You had black markings and your eyes had turned blue…"

A wave of shock coursed through my body. I knew that it had to be my mother's blood that had taken a hold of me during that fight. It was like I had already thought, but to be faced with the facts was difficult to accept. But then I began to ask myself: _how was it possible for my mother's blood to activate if _**it**_ was sealed within me? What was the spell breaker?_

"But it's not the only time I've seen the change!" InuYasha said in a rough manner.

I looked up at him and saw his severe expression while he said: "Back when we were fighting the Peach Man. After Miroku helped us get out of those vines, you changed for a few seconds when you thought that Kagome had been eaten."

That was news to me. I hadn't even registered that it hadn't been Gin's yōki I had used at that precise moment. But when I tried to remember it, I couldn't. I couldn't remember if it had been Gin's or _it's_ yōki I had felt take a hold of me. It was mildly annoying.

"And I changed during our latest encounter with Naraku…" I added in, knowing completely that it hadn't been Gin's yōki I had felt during the majority of that fight.

InuYasha nodded at my statement. Clearly, he had registered it as I had. I began to wonder what exactly _it_ was once again; it was still a mystery to me. Maybe InuYasha had an idea of what my mother's bloodline was.

"Do you know what type of yōkai I turned into?" I asked him.

To this, he shook his head in a negative and then added: "I couldn't recognize the scent…"

I nodded solemnly to his response. But at least he had shed some light over my enigma, yet most of it was still unsolved. And more questions had been added to the ever-growing list.

~oOo~

My night had been a restless one. I had tried to sleep, but every time I was just about to fall asleep, my thoughts kept nagging at me. I kept mulling over the questions I still had about my own heritage. About my mother's yōkai blood that seemed to be able to activate itself at random situations. I couldn't help but try to figure it out, yet I couldn't find out how it was possible. If _it_ was sealed away inside of me, how was it able to break out of said seal without breaking the seal completely?

When the first rays of the rising sun shone in through the small cracks between the wood and the curtain of the doorway, I finally gave up on getting any resemblance of sleep. I got up from my sleeping bag and silently stretched my slightly stiff limbs, muffling a yawn that wanted to escape my lips. Then I let my gaze sweep over my companions. They were all sleeping. InuYasha was sleeping next to the entrance in his usual posture: sitting up against the wall while he held the Tessaiga close to his chest. Miroku was lying close to the opposite wall of where I had been lying, facing the wall while his shakujō was resting gently against the corner of the walls, near his head. Within reach if he needed it in a second's notice. At the wall opposite the entrance, lied Sango, still out cold after our encounter. She was lying on her back with Kirara curled protectively around her head. Then right next to where I had been lying was Kagome. Lying in her sleeping bag on her back with Shippō sprawled out like a sea star on top of the sleeping bag on her stomach. It was adorable the way Shippō lied and I had a tingling sensation in my hands. How I wanted to scratch his exposed tummy. But I refrained from it. Shippō was a kitsune, a person, and not just some common house pet. Yet I still wanted to scratch his inviting stomach like he was a pet.

Shaking my head from side to side to shake out the impulse, I decided to get out of the hut. I snuck out as silently as I could, without stepping on someone's toe or make a single thing scramble with disturbance. When I was at the entrance, I gently pulled the curtain aside and hurriedly stepped outside. Once outside, I stretched once more and let a gentle yawn escape my lips. It was refreshing to stretch out my sore muscles. The fight I had been in with Naraku had really done a number on my body. Thinking on the battle, I remembered how I had been pierced by small thorns in my throat where he injected his poisonous yōki into me. My right hand sought after it and felt around on the smooth skin of my throat underneath my fingers, yet there weren't any blemishes that indicated that my skin had ever been pierced. That surprised me and I wished that I had a mirror to see if what I had felt was true. But that thought quickly dissipated when I felt the beginning of a headache forming in my mind. I closed my eyes and hissed a bit at the pain. And just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it disappeared in almost the same instance. I had a feeling that it had something to do with my mother's bloodline that resided in me, which got confirmed when I suddenly felt a fluke in my yōki, accompanied with an innate anger that bubbled up with the increasing of my yōki. I had to do something about it and decided that some meditation couldn't harm me. If it would work like it had done the night before when Miroku guided me through the steps, it would be fantastic.

With my mind on that, I exited the village and walked down to the small meadow with the yellow flowers I had seen Kagome and Shippō in when we were burying the dead villagers. When I was fairly deep within the flowery meadow, I glanced back and could barely see the path leading up to the village entrance. I decided that this spot would do it. Sitting down right where I was standing, I was soon enveloped with the scent of those yellow flowers that surrounded me. They smelled pleasantly like fresh honey and pollen. The smell made me sigh pleasingly and I closed my eyes.

Sitting in the lotus position, I mentally guided myself through the steps, starting with the regulation of my breathing pattern. Taking a deep breath, I counted to four, then slowly let it out while I counted to four. While my lungs was depleted of oxygen, I once again counted to four before I breathed in while I counted to four. I repeated the process until I felt like the breathing rhythm was natural and self-sustainable. Then I proceeded with the next step and felt how my body became heavier and heavier with each exhale. When it felt like the weight of my body was making a crater in the grassy earth I was sitting upon, I let my spirit fly up towards the sky with every exhale I made. I felt how my spirit became lighter and freer with each exhale, expelling every negative emotion from my soul. When I exhaled again, I felt like I could touch the sun without being engulfed by its heat. I counted to four while I kept my lungs depleted of oxygen. Then I took in another breath and I felt my surroundings disappear. The warm rays of the rising sun were gone. So was the pleasant smell of honey and pollen from the yellow flowers that had surrounded me. Even the soft breeze had disappeared like it had never existed. Then I was plunged into darkness. It felt like I had been there before, surrounded by the same darkness not too long ago. I looked around trying to find a way out of the never ending darkness. Wherever my eyes roamed, there was only the darkness. Then I felt something tingle in the back of my skull, like someone was watching me. I hastily turned around to look at where the feeling was coming from. My eyes landed on a dark silhouette that was almost consumed by the surrounding darkness.

The silhouette shifted and suddenly I was staring right into a pair of electric blue orbs, shining like lightning striking down. I felt myself stiffen in surprise with how intensely those eyes were staring into my own. They seemed cold. Calculating. It was like those blue orbs were studying me, appraising me. I could only see those intense electric blue orbs, the rest of it was enveloped in the shadowy darkness that was enveloping us both. My thoughts had stopped up entirely while we stared into each other's eyes.

Time seemed to stand still while we held each other's gaze, neither of us blinking or wavering our gazes away from one another's. I couldn't breathe, though I didn't have the need to breathe at all while I stared into those eyes. At first they were unrecognizable, but with each ticking second, they seemed to stir something in my mind. It suddenly felt like I knew those eyes. Like I've always known about them. Flashes of images began to flitter across my inner eyes, but they were distorted. I couldn't focus on them, no matter how much I tried to. But I had a feeling that it was a long forgotten memory that tried to be relived. Before I could figure any of it out, I suddenly felt something crash into my chest and knock out my breath.

I sat up abruptly and almost choked on the sharp intake I took of honey filled air. Something seemed to tumble off of my chest when had I sat up. Slowly, everything seemed to come to my senses: the gentle warm rays from the sun, the sweet smell of honey and pollen, and the tender caresses of the soft breeze.

"Ai-che-che-che-che!" I heard a childish voice exclaim repeatedly in pain.

My eyes landed on the small form of Shippō clutching his small hand on top of his head, where a small bump had already formed.

"Shippō-bō…?" I asked slowly, feeling confused at what had just happened.

His green eyes gleamed up at me with small drops of tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. When he looked me in the eyes, he seemed to forget his pain. His hands moved away from his head and the tears seemed to disappear in the same second they had been made. Then he quickly sprung up from the grassy ground and ran up to me. Before I could react to his actions, he jumped up and landed on my chest, hugging himself in close to me.

I was more than confused at the way he was behaving.

"Did something happen?" I asked him slowly, trying to get my mind to focus on the little kitsune hanging on my clothed bosom.

He was nodding vigorously into my chest and seemed to sniffle a bit. His answer made my head clear up instantly and I looked pointedly on the kitsune when I pulled him away from my chest to see his face. New tears had gathered in his eyes, and he impatiently tried to dry them away with his small hands.

Then he stammered out: "You weren't breathing, and suddenly you fell backwards! I thought that you were dying!"

Oh kami, he was worried about me.

"Oh, shush shush, Shippō-bō," I said in a loving manner, "I won't go down that easily…"

I hugged him tenderly into my chest while he seemed to succumb to his fright of me dying. He wailed so heartbreakingly that I could feel my own tears sting underneath my closed eyelids. Dear kami, he was such a sweet kid.

I gently shushed at him while I softly whispered: "I'm right here… I'm not dead… No need to cry…"

We sat like that for a while with me comforting him the best I could. When he seemed to have calmed down enough, he slowly pulled away from my chest and dried the last of his tears away with the sleeve of his turquoise happi coat. With him no longer resting his head against my chest, I registered the wet spot his salty tears had left when a gentle breeze rolled over us. But I didn't comment on it. Instead I began to wonder why Shippō was here in the first place.

"Why aren't you with the others?" I asked him softly.

He blinked up at me a few times before he told me his tale: "I heard the curtains ruffle and saw that you weren't in your sleeping bag. I went out of the hut to look for you when I saw you exit the village."

He sat down on top of my folded shins looking up at me with his sparkling green eyes that were a tad darker than mine. His fluffy fox tail was swishing gently from side to side, his soft fur tickling my naked shins with each motion. But I sat still, my sole focus on him while he continued berating his story to me.

"I followed you and found you sitting in the meadow. When I was almost right in front of you, I tried to get your attention. But you didn't respond at all and seemed to be somewhere else entirely."

The next sentences he said was in a much hurried spoken manner and the panic he had felt seemed to reappear in his green eyes: "Then you stopped breathing and fell backwards. I panicked and tried to wake you up, but you didn't respond at all. It wasn't until I jumped down on your chest that you woke up. You sat up straight and slung me off of you with the same motion."

His small hands then moved up to the small bump there was on top of his head, his facial expression morphing into one of slight pain: "I hit my head in the fall."

"I'm so sorry," I said softly and hugged him gently into my chest.

Then I placed a gentle kiss on top of his bump. Something that my father always did whenever I had hurt my hide. His kisses would always push any pain I had morph away to bliss.

I drew back from him and saw a confused expression on his childish face.

"What ya do that for?" he asked me just as confusedly as he looked.

I gave him a loving smile: "I'm kissing the pain away. My otō-san always kissed my pain away whenever I had hurt myself. Whether it would be a scrape or a bump, the pain always disappeared whenever the tender point was given a kiss by him."

He looked at me with slightly watery eyes, clearly not knowing what to say or do.

"Did the pain go away?" I asked Shippō tenderly.

He blinked at me a couple of times, then he got a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. Suddenly a surprised gleam overtook the thoughtful look he had had, and he stared into my eyes while he kept the surprised look on his face.

"How?" was his only question to mine.

I gave a soft chuckle. He reminded me slightly about myself when I was a little kid. The first time my father had kissed me on a booboo, I had asked him the same question. The answer he had given me was not what I had wanted to hear, but I never pressured him on it. I now knew what it was that had done the trick, but I didn't tell Shippō that. Instead, I gave him the same apply my father had given me so long time ago.

"It's a family secret."

Again, Shippō blinked in confusion, until he figured out that it wasn't a satisfactory answer. Then his face morphed into dissatisfaction.

"That's not a real answer!" he grumbled at me and crossed his hands across his chest.

I chuckled again in light mirth: "No, but it's the same answer I got when I was a kid. All I can say is when you get older, you'll know the secret."

This made him look at me with curiosity while his hands relaxed once more, his hands gently resting on my naked shins.

"Do you know the secret?" he asked me.

I gave him a loving smile. He simply was an adorable little kid.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to do it myself."

He returned my smile like only a child could, then he got up and hugged my face gently in his small arms and gave my cheek a small peck. I hummed in happiness with his loving gesture and rested my hand on his back in a heartfelt manner, loosely returning his gesture.

"Now, let's get back before the others will have a search party looking after us," I said gently and got up from the ground while holding him securely on my left shoulder.

He agreed with a hum and settled himself on my shoulder.

After a few steps, he asked me: "What exactly were you doing out here?"

While walking I turned my gaze towards him and answered: "Meditating. I figured it would be as good a time as any."

With that answer, we returned into a companionable silence while I led us back to the village.

~oOo~

When we returned, everyone was awake. Though Sango was still out cold, which wasn't a mystery since she had been so badly hurt when we encountered her. I could only guess that Kagome had had her things to do, considering that I was out cold as well and had been bruised as well. But definitely not as severe as Sango had been. Kirara had never left Sango's side all this time she had been out cold. At least not what I knew of, anyways.

Kagome was in the middle of preparing breakfast when I entered with Shippō on my left shoulder. Our entrance brought their attentions towards us, and I saw how relieved Kagome became when we entered the hut.

"There you are!" Kagome said in a reprimanding tone, "Where have you guys been?"

I looked at Shippō, who looked at me. His eyes were clearly telling me that I was the one who was gonna answer her. I felt my lips twist up in a soft smile and looked back at Kagome.

"Meditating," I answered simply and walked inside.

Then I sat down while Shippō jumped off of my shoulder and went over to Kagome. He stepped a bit back and forth on his vulpine feet, making a small jug in anticipation for breakfast. His eyes rested only on the bowls of instant ramen. I couldn't help but laugh gently at how cute Shippō was while he made his impatient little dance.

"It seems that it's working," Miroku said softly and I glanced over at him.

He was looking at me with gentle indigo eyes, clearly studying my behavior: "You seem to be more relaxed."

This made me think, and I could happily say that I was relaxed and felt quite good.

"I feel good," I said in a cheery manner.

Then my stomach grumbled loudly, and I glanced down at my protesting stomach: "… And I'm starving!" I then exclaimed in a happy manner.

Kagome chuckled at my enthusiasm and I turned my attention over to her.

"I'm happy that your appetite has returned. There's enough for you to gorge 'til your heart's content…" Kagome said mirthfully.

But then InuYasha exclaimed: "Hey! How come she gets to gorge 'til her heart's content?! How about my stomach?!"

While Kagome got up from her seated position with a bowl of ramen, she answered InuYasha in a very patient manner: "Because Aiko-chan is still recuperating from the fight with Naraku…"

I received the bowl of noodles from her and thanked her. Then before I could dig in, InuYasha exclaimed once more.

"I was hurt in that fight too!"

"But not as severely as Aiko-chan!" Kagome said fiercely while she gave Miroku his bowl of noodles.

Shippō had already a portion and was digging into it hungrily, barely letting it cool enough to not burn his tongue.

"Besides, you're already healed," Kagome then added in an afterthought while she returned back to her spot to get InuYasha's portion of instant ramen.

"But that's not fair!" he mumbled out with annoyance and discontent.

I quickly swallowed the mouthful of noodles I had in my mouth and said to InuYasha in a joking manner: "Life's not fair… Never has been. Never will be."

I looked over at InuYasha in a smirking manner, feeling a little bit like my old cocky self for once in a long time. He was staring at me with narrowed eyes, clearly not happy with my comment. Then he grumbled a bit while he dug into his portion of ramen. I suddenly felt competitive and quickly returned to my own noodles. With how fast InuYasha was eating his noodles, I wanted nothing more than to be faster than him. I felt eyes on me and knew that Kagome was staring at me. I could only imagine what she was thinking.

I quickly finished my portion and placed the bowl in front of me but kept my chopsticks in my right hand. Then I glanced up at Kagome and saw that she was staring at me with a knowing look in her eyes. I gave her a smirk in return and asked for seconds, just as InuYasha harshly placed his bowl on the floor and demanded for seconds. Our 'seconds' came at the same time and I shifted my eyes over to him, only to see him turn his golden eyes towards me at the same time. A glint came into his eyes and I recognized it immediately. He was challenging me to an eating competition.

_Challenge accepted_, I thought happily and then turned my eyes back to Kagome.

"Line them up, Kagome-chan! InuYasha is challenging me for my title!"

An exasperated sigh came from Kagome, but she began to line the bowls of noodles.

"You know, Aiko-chan, if you're going through with the challenge, there will be no more instant ramens when you're done."

InuYasha scoffed at Kagome's comment: "No way in hell she can eat that much!"

I glanced over at him and couldn't help but smirk at his comment: "You're talking to 'the Noodle Queen' over here!"

"Bah! 'The Noodle Queen!' What a hoax!"

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, InuYasha," Kagome said softly.

She had lined up ten ramens up to each of us and had prepared the first bowl of ours. More water was being boiled while we were speaking. Kagome already knew how much either of us could wolf down, and if she was warning InuYasha, then it was an easy win for me.

My smirk was ever present as I turned my attention back to InuYasha who was looking at me with a mirroring smirk and a fierce determination burned in his eyes.

Then I looked back at Kagome and gave her a serious nod. She sighed and looked up at me with hopelessness.

"Do I have to?" she asked me, which I replied to with another nod.

I turned my attention back to InuYasha while Kagome gave another condemning sigh.

"Alright then," she mumbled.

She cleared her throat and spoke out in an authoritative voice: "The title for 'Noodle Queen' or 'King' has been challenged. The challenger is InuYasha, who's challenging the current ruler, Aiko. The objective is simple. The first to finish ten bowls of instant ramen will be the winner."

A bowl was placed in front of us both and we stared at each other, trying to intimidate each other. _Like hell he would get my title of 'Noodle Queen!' I've been the ruling master of noodles for five consecutive years and no-one has ever come near to beating me_.

The scent of chicken flavored noodle wafted up to my nose and I could feel how hungry I still was. I heard Kagome preparing the next three bowl of noodles before she put over some more water.

"Are the contestants ready?" she asked and we both nodded in agreement.

Then I heard the smile in Kagome's voice when she uttered: "Ready, set… Noodle up!"

And we both dug into our respective bowls of noodles. I concentrated only on my own bowl. And before I was done with the first bowl, the next had already been set up in line.

_Good. Keep them coming Kagome!_ I thought victoriously.

I quickly finished up my first bowl and started on the second. While I wolfed down the second bowl, the empty bowl got replaced with a fresh batch of cooked noodles. This process was repeated until I reached my tenth and final bowl. And I quickly finished the bowl.

When I was done I place it down in front of me with the chopsticks on top of the empty bowl.

Then I clapped my hands together and exclaimed: "Done!"

I glanced up and looked up at my noodle-rival and saw his cheeks were puffed out with noodles, while a few strands hang out from in between his lips. He quickly swallowed the noodles down and looked down at the bowl he had in hand, then at the still full bowl he had in front of him. I followed his gaze and looked over to where Kagome was sitting. There were no bowls of instant ramen in front of her. Then I glanced back at InuYasha, who looked at me with puzzled eyes.

I had to give it to him. He was at his second to last bowl of instant ramen, which was the closest anyone had been to beating me in my own game.

"Aiko-chan remains the ruler of noodles: 'the Noodle Queen'!"

I clapped my hands in praise to his speed, happy that he was somewhat fast in wolfing down hot noodles.

"Good job, InuYasha," I said happily, closing my eyes in mirth.

I could feel him looking at me incredulously and opened my eyes to look at him. He had finished his ninth bowl but didn't dig into his tenth and final one.

"How's that possible?" he asked me, clearly surprised with my speed.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his surprise and decided to tell him about my title.

"I should let you know that I have been 'the Noodle Queen' for five consecutive years. The title has existed for five years."

This clearly took him by surprise, and I heard Shippō gasp in awe. I glanced over at him and saw how he looked just as surprised as well. Then, just out of curiosity, I looked at Miroku, only to see him mimicking the other two. It was so funny how every male that had been witness to my noodle consumption always seemed so surprise with the result.

My eyes shifted back to InuYasha, who was now sitting with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

"But I have to give it to you," I said with mild surprise, "You're the only one who's come this close to beat me in the 'ten-noodle-challenge'."

This made him narrow his eyes with his eyebrows furling down over his golden eyes: "What kind of wimps have you been challenging?"

I smiled at his question: "I was never the challenger, so you tell me."

My answer made his silvery eyebrows furl even deeper over his eyes while he seemed to ponder upon my answer.

Then my attention was taken by Shippō asking: "How fast can you consume ten bowls of ninja food?"

"My record is a bit over four minutes."

He gasped out in fascination: "That fast?!"

I nodded with pride, and said: "Yep," while I popped the 'p'.

Then Miroku pulled at my attention: "Why did you call it the 'ten-noodle-challenge'? Wouldn't it be simpler to just call it 'the challenge'?"

I looked at him and said simply: "That's because it's not the only challenge available."

This seemed to spark his curiosity: "What other challenges are there?"

"Only one other," I said and help a pregnant pause for dramatic effect.

Then I said: "The 'Max-challenge'," in such a dramatic manner that I imagined fireworks going off with the announcement of the other challenge.

"The 'Max-challenge'?" InuYasha asked me in a slow and questioning manner.

I nodded pridefully, crossing my arms over my chest with my eyes closed while I kept a satisfied smirk on my lips.

"_The_ 'Max-challenge'!" I said and put pressure on the _'the'_ for extra flare.

"What's that?" Shippō then asked me.

I chose to not answer. Instead, I looked over at Kagome and decided that she should answer it for me. She sighed when I looked at her imploringly.

But she answered Shippō's question: "The challenge had only been done once. Basically, the challenge is about how many bowls one person can eat in one go."

"Why has it only been done once?" Miroku then asked Kagome since I had let her be the spokesperson for this subject.

She gave another sigh and scratched the back of her neck: "Because we only have been able to gather enough bowls for the challenge that one time."

"How many?" InuYasha asked in an accusing manner like he would rather had done the 'max-challenge' than the 'ten-noodle-challenge'.

I chose to give the answer to that question: "Fifty bowls."

There was a pregnant pause before Miroku asked the question I had been waiting on: "What's your record?"

Another satisfied smile came to my lips and I answered him: "Twenty-seven."

"And your opponent?" Miroku then asked.

I chuffed out and leaned backwards, supporting my weight on my outstretched hands: "He only got through thirteen bowls."

"I was quite stuffed at the twenty-seventh, but I knew that I had room for more… But I decided that it was better to save the last ten bowls for another challenge. That way, we only had to get ten other bowls for the next 'ten-noodle-challenge'."

"Where the heck do you keep all that noodle?" InuYasha then exclaimed in utter surprise.

I chose to lie down on my back for a bit, suddenly feeling a bit tired: "I've got quite the metabolism!"

He chuffed at my answer and I heard him get up from his spot. I kept my eyes closed, not caring where he was headed to. Then I heard Shippō skitter across the floor and he dug into the leftover bowl of instant ramen that InuYasha had left.

Then I heard people get up and head out, but one pair of feet walked over to me.

"Are you okay?" Kagome asked me with curiosity tinted with slight nervousness.

I lazily opened an eye and saw her hovering over my face, her hair curtaining her gentle face.

"Yeah… just gonna nap a bit…" I mumbled out tiredly and let out a yawn.

She gave me a smile and I closed my eyes, drowsily returning one to her.

"Alright," she said warmly and walked away from my lying form, "Sleep tight."

I hummed in agreement and turned onto my side, lying properly on top of my sleeping bag. While I felt myself succumb to the enticing idea of sleep, I couldn't help but feel extremely happy. I was still the ruler of noodles: 'the Noodle Queen'.

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**A/N: I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; a bit of seriousness mixed with something fun to round it up. I really loved writing the noodle-challenge. I could just see how it transpired and I think that it's simply hilarious. Also, it gives you a bit of an insight to how Aiko is underneath this whole yōkai-bloodline-mystery that is her – a bit of her old self!**

**But I would really love to hear what you guys thought of it. Did you find it funny?**

**Next chapter will again be a bit more serious. A bit of emotions running rampage and new clues appearing. But until next Sunday, you'll only have your own imaginations to think about what might happen next chapter.**

**Stay safe, everyone!**

**Updater 05/15-2020: Chapters 1-28 has been corrected for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Nothing to the story has been changed.**


	29. Chapter 29 - Ūgama

**A/N: Hey there my lovely readers. I'm back with another chapter and must say that I'm quite pleased with this one. Like I've promised, this chapter is more serious than the previous, though there won't be blood spilled. Speaking of last chapter, some of you may have noticed that I've added a small update on the end note. As it states, I've lightly gone through the older chapters for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. There were a few, but otherwise the story hasn't been changed whatsoever. Yet you will notice if you reread them – and here on forwards – that (o)tō-san and (o)kā-san has been corrected to what they were supposed to be spelled like (how I've just written them).**

**But anyways, I thank you all for the support you've been showing me and my story. To the newcomers of the fave-fam: Alexstarlight18, Azera-v, UsamiHaruka, sillysammijo, and NadiixD, welcome and thank you so much for favoriting my story. Next, a big thanks to Nightbird755, Kagz419, Cat2k10, and sillysammijo for leaving a review.**

**To Nightbird755: I won't spoil when Sesshōmaru-sama will reappear but know that it will happen soon.**

**To Kagz419: I hadn't heard about the InuYasha sequel before you mentioned it. I've looked into it, but there isn't much to go on. I'm not sure about what I think about it yet, but I will say that the sequel won't have an impact on my story (not with how little information there is anyways).**

**And to sillysammijo: I am glad that you think my story is great. And yeah, I've used a lot of time working on Aiko (I made a document for her character like you see the InuYasha-wiki do with the original characters; helping me along with figuring her out and giving me a good viewpoint of what she can and can't do, and so much more. It's still a work in progress). To mention Kirara; she's a smart creature and shouldn't be treated like a common house pet (cause she's **_**not**_** common), so I try my best to do her character right. I really appreciate your review, so thank you so much for giving me one.**

**Lastly, thanks to you all for taking the time to read my story, I really am grateful for it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**Now, let's get this show on board again:**

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**Chapter 29 – Ūgama**

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When I awoke again, I was alone in the hut. Like literally alone. Sango and Kirara were gone. I hastily got up and zeroed in on the empty sleeping mat that Sango had occupied for the last four days. Did the others know that she was awake?

With no one inside the hut, other than me, I quickly scurried out of the building. The sun was up in the sky on a slow descent towards west. From the position of the sun, I would guess that we were in the middle of the afternoon. How long had I been asleep?

No time to ponder about how long. I had to find the others and tell them that Sango was up and walking. I quickly scanned the empty village with my eyes while I tried to feel after Kirara's and InuYasha's yōki. Slowly I headed in the direction of the entrance when I felt both Kirara's and InuYasha's yōki. When I had found out where their energies were coming from – the were coming closer to the entrance – I ran towards the entrance.

Before I could reach the entrance, I saw the others enter the village. InuYasha was in the front and had his head turned towards Kagome, who was on InuYasha's right with Kirara in her arms. Miroku was on InuYasha's left with Shippō sitting on the monk's right shoulder. But I couldn't see Sango amongst them. Once more, I got reminded that she was up and running.

I had frozen in my steps when I had seen their approaching forms, but I soon got back in motion and ran towards them.

"Guys! GUYS!" I hollered in a panicky manner.

They all stopped up and looked at me in alarm, induced by the tone of my holler. I swiftly reached them and stopped up a few feet in front of InuYasha. Quickly I caught my breath and spilled the beans.

"Have you seen her? Seen Sango?!" I asked quickly.

They looked amongst themselves with puzzlement, but before they could get a word out, I said in a hurried manner: "She's apparently up and running! She was not in the hut!"

Taking a deep breath, I spoke again before anyone of them could get a word in: "I don't think she's well enough to be walking around without someone keeping an eye on her! She was hurt really badly when we met her and shouldn't be up already!"

I took another deep breath, feeling worried about Sango's health. Miroku said my name in a patient manner, but I didn't pay enough attention to the tone in his voice.

"We must find her before she gets hurt!"

Kagome sighed at my exclamations.

"HEY!" InuYasha yelled at me, finally getting my attention.

I stopped my worried ramblings and looked at the hanyō. He turned to the side and showed me a tired looking young woman on his back. It was none other than Sango who looked at me with a confused expression on her pretty face.

"Oh!" I slowly said when I finally realized that she was being carried on InuYasha's back.

"I guess you already found her," I said embarrassedly and scratched the back of my neck.

"She was never lost," InuYasha deadpanned at me.

I could only laugh nervously in response. Dear kami, I had panicked over her wellbeing without there being any need for it. I felt slightly flustered with my brief mother-hen-syndrome I had experienced for less than a minute. Was Kagome's 'easy-to-worry'-ness finally catching on to me?

"So… Where were you guys?" I slowly asked.

Shippō was the one to answer: "Sango told us a story about Miko Midoriko while we were back in the limestone cave."

"Miko Midoriko?" I questioned confusedly.

Kagome stepped forward and slowly placed a hand on my waist, turning me around and leading me back to the hut.

"We tried to wake you up so you could've joined us, but you were so deep in sleep that not even InuYasha's holler could wake you up," she said humorously, and I could hear the others beginning to follow us.

Kirara had left Kagome's arms and had jumped up on my right shoulder, purring softly into my ear. I had a feeling that she was silently laughing at my expense, if her closed eyes were any indication of what the small feline yōkai was doing.

"Riii~ght…" I said sarcastically, like I knew exactly what they had been up to.

Kagome laughed gently at my response. But I really wanted to know what Shippō had talked about.

"But who is this Miko Midoriko?" I asked seriously.

"She's the beautiful woman in the limestone cave," Miroku said behind me.

I glanced over my left shoulder to look at him with a questioning look; I still had no clue about who they were talking about. Then InuYasha huffed in annoyance and cleared my confusion.

"The one with a hole in her chest! The woman you said that was human, back when we were in the cave the first time!"

"Ahh!" I said in realization then asked my next question: "What was her story?"

"The long version or the short version?" Shippō asked me from Miroku's shoulder.

I glanced back at Kagome, who still rested her arm around my waist in a friendly manner and guided me to the entrance of the hut. She let go when I entered it. When I was inside and had stepped to the side so that the others could get in as well, I turned to the side and looked at her once more while she came in. She entered and walked over to her sleeping bag and sat down on top of it.

"Trust me when I say the long version is confusing and complicated to understand… Something about mitama, mitama, mitama, and mitama… I don't even remember what they're called again…"

I looked at her confusedly and decided to join her on her sleeping bag.

"Ara-mitama, Nigi-mitama, Kushi-mitama, and Saki-mitama!" Miroku clarified Kagome's 'mitama's' in a serious manner as he entered and sat down against the wall he usually slept against.

But I had no idea what they were and looked at Miroku with as much confusion as I was feeling inside. I felt like nothing at all made sense at that moment.

He gave a gentle sigh before he held up a finger in the air: "Ara-mitama is courage," then he held up a second finger in the air, "Nigi-mitama is kinship," a third finger joined the other two, "Kushi-mitama is wisdom."

Then lastly, he held a fourth finger and said: "Saki-mitama is love. When together, these become one spirit, and resides in the heart of a person."

I looked at him thoughtfully, trying to keep up with what he was telling me: "Human nature is correctly maintained in between them."

I was still not getting the meaning of those four … _things_, he had named for me: "But what are they exactly?"

He looked at me with serious eyes, "Souls."

"Souls?" I asked him thoughtfully, which he nodded to in agreement.

"But I thought that humans only had one soul?"

"Yes and no," he replied to my question, "What you are referring to as 'one soul' is in fact one's spirit, which consists of four souls."

Kagome was looking dizzy as Miroku was explaining the concept of souls and spirit. I thought I got the jest of it, but I couldn't see how it was related to this Miko Midoriko.

"I think I get what you're saying that a spirit consists of four different souls. But I still don't get what this has to do with this Miko Midoriko."

He sighed gently before he tried to make the connections clear for me: "In a normal person, one of the souls would be the more dominant soul and characterize once character. Souls are neutral but can become good or evil with the actions the owner of the souls make."

"Miko Midoriko was spiritually powerful enough to purify all four souls and therefor purify lesser yōkai with her mere presence."

Suddenly a light lit in my brain when I got the connections connected: "Wait a minute, are you saying four souls as in definition to the Shikon no Tama? Is Miko Midoriko the reason that that blasted jewel exists?"

Kagome gasped at my question: "Wait, you actually understand all this 'four souls'? I still don't get it!"

I looked at her feeling crossed: "Hey, just because I'm a brawny girl doesn't mean that I can't use my brain sometimes!"

She chuckled nervously at my little outburst and I could only sigh at what her chuckle insinuated: "Jeez Kagome-chan, thanks for the vote of confidence in my brain!"

Miroku cleared his throat and said: "Yes, she is the one who created the Shikon no Tama, but there's more to the story than that she simply made it."

"What do you mean there's more to it?"

This time, it was Sango that answered my question: "What he means is: Miko Midoriko exorcised Shikon and was very experienced in using the spell to transform yōkai's power into nothing. That's why the yōkai feared her and tried to take her life."

I turned my attention to Sango, who was now sitting on her sleeping mat. I hadn't even registered that InuYasha had carried her over to her sleeping mat and moved away again. I had been completely focused on Miroku's explanation of Shikon.

"To overcome Midoriko's spiritual powers, much evil was needed. There was a man who secretly loved Miko Midoriko. The yōkai took advantage of the man's weakness and possessed him. Many yōkai merged into one by using said man's evil heart as an anchor."

"So that giant yōkai within the cave was actually _one hanyō_?" I asked her.

"I wouldn't call it a hanyō since there basically was nothing left of the man, other than his corporal self. His soul was devoured by the many yōkai."

I nodded to her, indicating that she could continue with the tale, which she did, her voice a tired timber though her voice was relaxing to listen to: "The massive yōkai fought Miko Midoriko for seven days and seven nights, until finally, Midoriko had exhausted her power and her body was eaten."

"At that moment, when the yōkai was consuming her body, Midoriko used the last of her power and seized the yōkai's soul. Her own soul was taken in with her last attempt to defeat the yōkai, and their souls were expelled from her body. Their bodies died, but a small cluster of souls remained and that is the Shikon no Tama."

"So, the Shikon no Tama isn't just Midoriko's soul… but also the yōkai's soul?" I asked.

"Exactly," Sango said, "Their souls continue to fight within the Jewel. Depending on the soul of who holds the Jewel, they become better or worse."

This made me raise a brow at her in confusion, but I could see how tired she was, so I turned my attention to Miroku in hopes that he would explain it to me.

He did: "In other words, if a yōkai or an evil person holds it, their corruption increases. But if someone with a pure soul holds it, then they are cleansed."

I glanced over at Kagome. It was no wonder that she could hold onto the jewel without being corrupted. I knew of no one who had a purer soul than her. But it made me wonder: if I ever got a hold of it, what would happen? Would I be a corrupter?

I had a feeling that I would become more like a yōkai than I would become a human. Though I, in theory, was more human than I was a mononoke, I was still a descendant of two powerful yōkai bloodlines. There was no telling how powerful exactly, since I didn't have enough knowledge on either bloodlines. This made me think about Gin, and I tried to reach her in my mind. But there was no response from her. Why wasn't she responding to my callings?

I began to worry that something was wrong with her.

"The Jewel came back to our village during my ojī-san's time," Sango said in a slow manner, "He got it from a mononoke he had exterminated, but ojī-san succumbed to the wounds he had acquired doing the fight. It had been badly corrupted and was send off to a young miko, who was in possession of purifying powers and could purify the Shikon no Tama."

Before I could ask who that miko was, Kagome said in a low voice right next to me: "It was Kikyō."

I was surprised to hear this, but it seemed to fit perfectly into the already assembled puzzle. This was why Naraku had targeted Kikyō; she was a pure soul that he wanted to corrupt. Thus, corrupting the jewel in the process. But he hadn't taken into consideration of how pure Kikyō's intentions were. She was burned with the jewel, which resulted it in Kagome having it inside her body, since she's the reincarnation of the then dead, now undead, Miko Kikyō.

"Well," Sango sighed and lied down on her sleeping mat, "That's how the Shikon no Tama came to exist."

She yawned while she shuffled on top of her mat, trying to find a good position to fall asleep in. That's when Kirara jumped down from my shoulder and quickly trotted over to her owner. I had completely forgotten that Kirara had been on my shoulder this entire time.

She mewled at Sango insistently and I looked at the feline's behavior with puzzlement.

"Kirara?"

Sango seemed to be just as confused as I felt about Kirara's behavior. She sat up and looked down at the feline with confused wonder. Then, Kirara quickly ran over to me and jumped up on my right shoulder and bushed her head against me in a loving gesture. She did the same gesture a couple more times before she turned her insistent red eyes over to Sango again, imploring her to do something.

I felt more than confused with how Kirara was acting up. What did she want?

"Kirara, what are you trying to tell me?" Sango asked her confusedly while she looked at her like she was an unsolvable enigma.

"Kew!" Kirara said insistently and turned her red gaze back on me.

I looked into the sweet but confusing mononoke's red eyes, still not getting what the problem was.

"Does she act like this normally?" I asked Sango and turned my green eyes over to look into her brown eyes.

"No…" She said, but her sentence ended abruptly like she cut herself short.

Then she was scrutinizing me.

"Wait a minute," Sango then murmured, and her eyes widened up in surprise.

"Your name was Aiko, ne?" she asked me.

I could only nod to her question, but it seemed to be enough for her.

"Can you come closer?" she then asked me.

Kirara chose to jump down from my shoulder and run over to her owner, but Sango's focus stayed solely on me. Slowly I got up and walked over to her. I kneeled down in front of her, a couple of feet of distance in between us. When I had situated myself down in front of her, she grabbed a hold of my chin and forcefully pulled my face closer to hers. I blushed at the notion; there wasn't much space in between our faces. She kept a strong hold on my chin and turned my head a bit to the right, then a bit to the left, clearly studying my eyes. Why was she so suddenly obsessed with my eyes?

The distance between us felt uncomfortable and I licked my suddenly parched lips nervously. What was she looking after?

"Those eyes…" she mumbled to herself and then turned my head this way and that, her focus only on my eyes.

"How's it…?" she then mumbled to herself, but interrupted herself in her own questioning, only to mumble once more: "It can't be… but those eyes… there's no mistake… but he doesn't have a family…"

"Who are you talking about?" I whispered nervously.

She let go of my chin and I quickly pulled myself back a bit, creating much needed space in between us. Her eyes were hard while she stared right into my green eyes.

"You must be related to Ūgama-san! But it's impossible! He doesn't have any family!"

Then to my surprise, her brown eyes became as hard as steel while she sneered in a threatening manner: "Who are you?"

"Kew?" Kirara mewled in a questioning manner, clearly seeming to not have expected Sango's sudden negative behavior.

I was confused at what had happened here, but I did pick up on something that didn't make sense in my mind: "Who's Ūgama?"

Sango sneered at me: "Don't avoid my question! Who are you?!"

I raised my hands up in a non-threatening manner and slowly said: "My name's Aiko, and I'm a childhood friend of Kagome-chan…"

This seemed to change her demeanor and she now looked surprised at me, only to quickly shift her attention over to Kagome. Her gaze was appraising as she looked at Kagome. I turned my gaze to look at my best friend and could she how worried Kagome looked. She was clearly worried about the sudden change in Sango's demeanor.

"We're not from this time period," I then said to Sango in a serious manner, trying to pull her attention away from Kagome.

It worked. Sango shifted her gaze back to me; she looked like she didn't trust me.

"I don't know what Kagome has told you, but if it hadn't occurred to you, her clothes are different."

Her eyes were still narrowed while she looked at me incredulously. Though her demeanor suddenly changed, and she looked thoughtful.

"I did get the feeling that she wasn't from around here," she said in a thoughtful manner, "But you're saying that you are from the same place as she is?"

"Yes," I said patiently while I gave her a solitude nod, "We came here together from the future. We fell through Kagome-chan's family well and ended up on this annoying crusade of gathering those blasted Jewel shards…"

"You don't look like you're from the future…" Sango interrupted me, "She looks like she doesn't belong here," she added while she pointed a finger at Kagome, "But you are not human… not completely anyways."

I sighed at her comment; she was apparently able to discern my yōki: "Long story short: I was raised as a human and has only recently found out about my yōkai blood. But other than the knowledge that I'm a descendant of two powerful yōkai bloodlines, I have no knowledge about whom I'm a descendant of."

To my surprise, Kagome added in her own yen to the conversation: "A lot can happen in five hundred years…"

Kagome's comment made Sango's brows rise up in surprise and she quickly glanced over at Kagome before she intensified her gaze on me: "Do you have a sword?"

I seemed a bit confused about her sudden question but chose to play along with her idea: "I've inherited an ōdachi from my otō-san…"

"Show it to me!"

Her command was so abrupt that I froze for a second, but I soon gathered my thoughts and nodded. Looking over my shoulder, I glanced at Kagome.

"Could you hand it to me? It's right next to my sleeping bag…"

She nodded and quickly found it. Presenting it to me like a professional would present it, I grabbed a gentle hold of the saya.

"Thanks," I said gently and showed it off to Sango.

She stared at it intently, and I could easily see that she recognized it.

"How's that possible? It looks exactly like Ōginsairensā!" she said, marveled by my sheathed weapon.

"It is Ōginsairensā," I said accusingly, feeling slightly crossed that she would believe that my Ōginsairensā wasn't real.

"Can you use it? Can you use the move Rakurai?" she looked up at me with disbelief.

Apparently she wasn't satisfied with seeing it sheathed, and I had a feeling that she wouldn't accept my statement about being able to use the move Rakurai. Though, I had only done it twice, and the second time it hadn't worked. The Peach Man had apparently been made of rubber the moment I had used the move; or at least resistant to any attacks we had made. So, I unsheathed Ōginsairensā and held it up in front of me. The blade gleamed lightly in the low light that entered the hut from outside while I held it up with the sharp side upwards and the length of the blade parallel with my shoulders. I closed my eyes and sought inwards, seeking out Gin.

I had to look for a while, but when I finally found her, she seemed weary and tired.

_Gin, I need your yōki for a moment…_

She sighed at me like she was exhausted, but I could feel her yōki flow inside me. I grabbed a greedy hold of it and let the warm feeling of her yōki engulf my being. But I could easily feel how much it was draining her and I decided to make it a quick show. I poured my yōki into the blade and opened my eyes. Ōginsairensā was shining a brilliant silver, lighting up the room with its silvery glow.

I then lowered the blade so that I could look Sango in the eye.

"_Is it enough for you, or do want to be shocked?_" I asked her impatiently.

Gin's yōki was vibrating in my voice, and I fought to keep her yōki up and flowing through me, awaiting Sango's response.

"I believe you," she whispered, her eyes solemnly focused on my silver glowing blade for another second before she shifted her gaze up to meet my own.

I gave her a nod and let go of Gin's yōki, which quickly disappeared from my grasp. She retracted into the depths of my mind, where I almost lost the connection I had with her. Something was clearly wrong with her. She seemed worn out and barely alive.

I exhaled a heavy breath of air and lowered my blade down to rest on top of my lap. This demonstration seemed more taxing on me than ever before. I had a feeling that it had something to do with my mother's blood within me.

Sweat had begun to form on my brow, and I was panting like I had just run a marathon. I looked up at Sango and she seemed to have decided on telling me something important.

"You're clearly a descendant of Ūgama-san…"

I sighed in exasperation and began to feel impatient: "You've said that name once but haven't told me who the hell he is."

She seemed apologetic with her distrust and finally spilled the beans: "Hiito Ūgama is a taijiya… and a descendent of an inu daiyōkai!"

This caught me by surprise. A descendant of an inu daiyōkai. Did this per chance mean that he was an ancestor of mine? Why else would she mention this man?

"You have his eyes, which my chichi-ue told me was the mark of his yōkai blood. You can only be a descendant of his bloodline!"

"Is he a hanyō?" Miroku then asked her.

I had completely forgotten that the others were still here, and I looked over at him with shock filling my eyes.

"Second generation," Sango said, turning her attention to the hōshi, "His otō-san was a hanyō while his okā-san was a human. They were both taijiya. At least that's what I've been told."

"What do you know about his lineage? About this inu daiyōkai he is a descendant of?" I asked, more than curious to find out about him.

If I really was a descendant of him, then I had finally gotten a big piece of my puzzle in place; I was finally a step closer to figure out who I was and learn something important about my father's bloodline.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about the inu daiyōkai Ūgama-san is a descendant of. My chichi-ue didn't tell me everything about Ūgama-san, only enough to know that he was a trustful person… a comrade in arms."

"Then what can you tell me about him? I need to know!"

I was more than ecstatic about learning about one part of my heritage, though it seemed that she didn't have that much information about his bloodline. But if she knew just a tiny bit, it was an immense help.

"Not much else. Well, he is about sixty winters but looks like he's only lived about twenty/thirty winters," she said thoughtfully.

I nodded encouragingly at her, impatient to know more about my possible ancestor.

"I know that he was on a mission in a small village down south. He always worked alone. No one ever accompanied him around… I still think his down south…"

"Where's this village?!" I questioned her seriously.

"About a week's travel on foot down south. It's close to the sea…"

I hastily got up from my kneeled position and turned around. Ōginsairensā was in my right hand while the saya fell to the floor, its emptiness clattering hollowly. My eyes landed on InuYasha, staring at him with pleading eyes.

"We need to go there!" I exclaimed passionately.

If there was any possibility that I could get answers from this Hiito Ūgama, then I had to find him!

InuYasha got up from his sitting position and stared annoyedly at me: "We aren't going after some guy you may or may not be related to!"

"But I need answers!" I yelled at him, pleading him to see reason.

I needed to know about my lineage!

"No! We can't storm off to some weird place where some guy may be… For all we know, he's dead!"

"But…" I stated frustratedly, but InuYasha wouldn't hear any of my arguments: "We need to focus on the Shikon Jewel shards! There's simply no time to go find _one_ guy!"

He began to head out of the hut but stopped up in the doorway, looking over his shoulder at me with a determined demeanor: "If we want to find the shards before Naraku does, then we simply don't have the time to look after some guy who may have the answers you're looking after!"

With his last statement, he exited the hut and left the rest of us in an unpleasant silence. I felt hopeless with his brutal exit. Couldn't he see that I needed to know what was happening to me? What I was? He already had the answers that he needed, so why couldn't we spare the time I needed to get mine?

"Aiko-chan?" Kagome said in a concerned manner.

I glanced over at her and saw how much she wished to help me out here, but she didn't know what she could do. A shallow sigh escaped my lips and I bowed down after the saya to Ōginsairensā, then slowly sheathed my weapon.

"He's right," I said hollowly, though I didn't want him to be right, "We need to find the shards before Naraku does!"

I stuffed my weapon into the back of my obi and headed towards the entrance of the hut.

"I'm sorry, Aiko-san… I wish that I hadn't mentioned Ūgama-san…" Sango said in a somber voice, clearly feeling guilty about disrupting the peace in our group.

I glanced over my shoulder to look over at her: "Don't be sorry. I really appreciate that you told me about him."

With my comment to Sango, I exited the hut and hurriedly walked out of the village. I needed to figure out what my next step should be… On one hand, I had to stay with the group and protect Kagome the best I could. I needed to be close to her. After all, she was the reason I was back here with her in the first place. But on the other hand, I really needed some answers. I felt unstable with how things were at the moment. Gin was growing weaker and I needed to do something about it. I couldn't let her perish; I had become somewhat dependent on her. Besides, I kind of liked her. She had helped me through the first steps in being a yōkai and shed some light onto my whole dilemma of my heritage. If this Ūgama really was my ancestor, then surely he could help me help her. Couldn't he?

_What should I do?_

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**A/N: And that's that for now. What do you think of this new revelation? Is this Hiito Ūgama really her ancestor? What do you think Aiko will do?**

**Btw, just to not get any of you confused, Ūgama is his first name while Hiito is his last name. I only mention it so that we are on the same page.**

**Until next time, stay safe.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Chichi-ue – **_**a reverent term for father.**

_**Hiito Ūgama**_** – (****非意図****;****植う我慢**** – ****Unintentional; to grow patience).**


	30. Chapter 30 - Out of Balance

**A/N: Hello, hello. It's Sunday again, so that means a new chapter. To Hade's-Daughter17 , PandaKami, We Are all Dreamers, Minalichen, mgreenleaf, Dowlsgal92, and Jayfeather912, welcome to the fave-fam.**

**To Cat2k10, sillysammijo, and Kagz419, thanks for leaving a review; it's nice to get praise for one's work.**

**And thanks to all of you for taking your time reading my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha: this series and all of its wonderful (and gruesome) characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I do, however, own Aiko and her background story, and plausible other OCs that may appear throughout this series (I've not completed writing this story as of yet).**

**And now, onwards with the show:**

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**Chapter 30 – Out of Balance**

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The sun was hanging low on the horizon when I finally headed back to the taijiya village. For hours, I'd been trying to figure out what I should do, and it seemed like there only was one solution to the conflict. I didn't make this decision lightheartedly, but I had to prioritize what I had to do. I just hoped that Kagome would forgive me.

When I had returned to the others, the smell of roasting boar met my nose but was soon shadowed by the tense atmosphere that emerged with my mere presence. InuYasha was there, looking up at my entering form. He looked like he anticipated something to go down. His body was slightly tense, and his golden eyes were narrowed at me. I glanced at him, though with neutral eyes. It would seem that he was waiting for me to start the debate all over again. But I had no intentions of discussing it. I'd already made up my mind of what I was going to do.

So, as he waited for me to speak, I gave him a simple smile. However, I could feel that it didn't quite reach my eyes.

"When's dinner ready?" I asked in a soft voice.

My question seemed to melt away the tension that had been hanging in the air, and InuYasha turned his eyes away from me. Sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, he closed his golden eyes and seemed to relax.

"Soon," Miroku answered my question, and I turned my focus to him.

He was sitting near the roasting boar, slowly turning it over the warm flames that licked the tender flesh of the meat. Shippō was sitting next to him, his green eyes sparkling with anticipation for a lovely meal. My gaze moved and I saw Sango sitting with Kirara curled up like a little fur ball on her lap. She was slowly combing her fingers through Kirara's soft fur which made the little feline purr gently. Then my eyes landed on Kagome, who was looking at me with suspicious brown eyes. She clearly didn't think that I would easily had let go of the debate. Normally, I wouldn't have, but my mind was already made up about what I needed to do. Standing where I was, I looked into her eyes like there was nothing wrong. Her eyes widened like she had figured out what I was intending to do, but just as quickly as they had widened, they regulated back to their normal size and became filled with worry. Yet she didn't say a single word, and I was both surprised and relieved that she wasn't going to reveal my intentions to the others. She turned her gaze away from me to look in front of her. I took her silence as a good sign and walked over to her. Sitting down next to her, I awaited dinner to be done.

~oOo~

After we had eaten the boar, we all got together and tried to decide what our next steps should be. Our first plan had been to find the castle with the help of Sango since she had been to the castle. But when she had tried to remember the way, there was nothing. She had no recollection of how she hadn't gotten to Naraku's castle. So that idea went into the trash bin.

I wasn't super focused on what the others were planning because I had my own plan to follow. But I did pay enough intention that whenever I was asked what I thought of this or that idea, I had no problem in answering them truthfully.

It grew late into the evening, and the first ones to go to bed were Sango, Kirara and Shippō. There was nothing abnormal with either of them being the first to fall asleep. Sango was still recovering from her injuries. Kirara was a cat, sort of, and cats usually slept whenever they got an opportunity for it. Shippō was just a kid and needed a lot of sleep so that he could grow up. Sango lied with her back to the fire, while Kirara and Shippō was curled up together near Sango's back.

The rest of us made a bit of small talk before deciding to go to bed as well.

Lying on top of my sleeping bag with my back turned to the fire, I acted like I was sleeping. But in reality, I was waiting for the others to fall asleep. It would be easier to take off if there was no one to stop me. I felt slightly guilty about leaving the others so that I could find Ūgama, but I had to do it.

I was a liability the way I was now. Unstable. With Gin growing weaker and weaker while it seemed that _it_ was growing stronger; the way it was heading was towards disaster. I didn't feel comfortable with how _it_ seemed to change me. Before Miroku had showed me how to meditate and expel the anger I felt – which was due to _its_ yōki – I had been ready to beat InuYasha into a pulp. I was afraid that I would have done it if I had let _it_ take control. Which _its_ yōki was trying to do. To take away my control. I had a feeling that whatever seal had been placed to keep it at bay had been weakened, though I didn't know what had weakened it. Whatever was happening, it was causing Gin's deteriorating health. The others couldn't do a thing about it since they knew no more about my yōkai blood than I did. But I hoped that maybe this Ūgama – my plausible ancestor – would have some knowledge and was able to help me.

Time was moving slowly while I waited for everyone to have fallen asleep, and I felt that it was slightly tearing at my patience. But I kept myself focused on the end goal. With me seeking out Ūgama, I would hopefully make myself stable again.

InuYasha's gentle snoring and Miroku's deep and slow breathing reached my ears, and I knew it was time for me to act. Slowly and silently I got up from my sleeping bag. My eyes landed on Kagome who was lying next to me in her own sleeping bag. She seemed to be asleep; her breathing was slow and gentle while her eyes were closed in a soft manner. Trying to make as little noise as possible, I placed Ōginsairensā in the back of my obi and grabbed a hold of my duffle bag. While holding my bag in one hand – its weight a bit heavy in one hand – I tiptoed my way over to the entrance. Before I exited the hut we had occupied the last five-six days, I let my gaze sweep over the others to make sure that none of them had awoken while I had grabbed my stuff. They seemed to all be in deep sleep. My heart began to ache a bit with leaving them behind. Especially Kagome. They all had found a way into my heart. Kagome had always had a place in my heart like I had one in hers. After all, we were sisters in any meaning of the word except for blood. Shippō was like a little kid brother that I've never had. A lively kid with a big heart.

Though Miroku was a big pervert and that made me trust him a little less, he had shown me how caring he could be. He was wise and seemed to have an answer to many different things. Even when it came to me and my absurd heritage. He had helped me out when it seemed there wasn't any help to get.

Then there was InuYasha. He was a kindred spirit in many ways. He was protective about the things he cared about. A fighter. And he was like me when it came to food. Except for the period I had with no appetite at all, we were both able to eat a hell of a lot of food without gaining weight. And we somehow seemed to understand each other's emotions without giving words to them.

Even though I haven't known Kirara or Sango for that long, they had managed to find a tiny spot in my heart.

Kirara reminded me a lot of Kagome; their souls were both gentle and pure. There also seemed to be some sort of connection between us, but I had a feeling that it had something to do with her recognizing me as being a descendant of Ūgama. Though I hadn't proved it to be true yet, the evidences of me being related to him seemed to prove the fact true.

I had barely known Sango for a day, but she had already helped me immensely. She was the one who had told me about Ūgama, and that was what gained her a big fat plus in my book. It pained me to know how much emotional pain she must be going through. Loosing everyone that you've known and cared for your whole life was never easy. Losing my father had been the most painful experience I had encountered in my sixteen years of living. She was going through the same pain, but only many times over. She had not only lost a father. She had lost a whole village of people she'd known her whole life.

With an unspoken goodbye, I exited the hut and slowly walked away from it. After a few feet, I stopped up and shuffled my duffle bag over my shoulder, using the long rem it was sporting. The rem went over and across my chest with the bag itself resting securely against my left hip bone. When everything was like it should be, I began to walk again. The loose gravel underneath my feet grinded softly against my waraji with every gentle step I took towards the exit of the village. Before I reached the still damaged entrance to the village, I heard fast approaching footsteps from behind me. The gravel seemed to be grinding harshly against each other and seemed to make my ears hurt. I had gotten somewhat used to the near-silence that had surrounded me with my stealthy attempt of an escape. Stopping up, I slowly turned around to see who it was that I apparently had awoken, and I was surprised to see that it was Kagome.

"Kagome-chan?" I whispered with wonderment; she was the last one I had expected to come running after me in the middle of the night.

She quickly caught up with me. When she was standing right in front of me, she gasped deeply after air. She looked a bit exhausted with the stretch she had run.

"Aiko-chan!" she breathed out breathlessly, though I could hear the imploringness in her breathless voice.

I felt a sudden sadness engulf me at being confronted by her. Tears prickled in my eyes with what I was about to face. I was more than sure of that she would try to stop me from leaving them. But I had to!

I felt myself harden with resolve. No words she could throw at me would stop me from seeking out Ūgama.

"Whatever you have to say," I said in a harsh voice which made me want to flinch away at my own harshness, but I didn't: "I'm going!"

She sighed at me and her eyes turned sad when she looked me in the eyes: "I'm not here to stop you…"

My body became rigid with her surprising statement. I hadn't expected her to say those words.

"I just wished that you would've told me that you were leaving…" she continued on in a hurtful manner.

Now I just felt extremely guilty. I hated it when she was hurt. And this time I was the one to blame for her pain. The tears began to stream down my cheeks, and I choked down the sob that tried to crawl up my throat and out of my trembling lips. Dear kami, how I hated myself for hurting her.

"Ssh," she gently shushed at me and stepped closer to me.

She grabbed a hold of my hands, gently holding them in a supporting manner: "Hey, I get why you're leaving us. You need answers, and it seems like this Hiito Ūgama may have them."

Her voice was gentle now, supportive of my decision. She gave me a soft smile while her brown eyes shone with love and care.

"It's not the only reason," I whispered out in a gruff voice, affected by my crying.

I sniffed, trying to make my nose less runny: "Something is wrong with Gin," I whispered.

"What do you mean?" she asked me, confused and worried.

"It feels like… Like she's dying…" I whispered fearfully.

I didn't like how weak she had grown over the last couple of days. Kagome's eyes enlarged with fear for my health.

"I have a feeling that it has something to do with my okā-san's blood. Gin told me that there was a seal to keep _it_ at bay. But it seems like it has weakened immensely and it's affecting Gin…"

Understanding laced with the present fear that was gleaming in her eyes: "You're hoping that Ūgama can help you help Gin?" she asked me.

I nodded: "I feel that if I don't fix Gin soon, something dire will happen. Like me ending up hurting …" I sighed with dread: "… You … and all of the others!"

Some of her worry seemed to dissipate a bit: "You would never hurt me or the others. Your heart wouldn't allow it."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds and tremblingly breathed in through my mouth.

"I don't want to, but my okā-san's blood; _it_! … Whenever I feel _its _yōki course through my veins, I get so angry and filled with bloodlust! I have no control over it!"

I was breathing heavily now, feeling my blood course fiercely through my veins. I was riling myself up without any reason to do so. Closing my eyes, I tried to suppress the adrenaline that had begun to course within me. My hands clenched themselves into tight fists while I focused on calming down.

Kagome let go of my clenched hands, only to wrap her arms around me. Her embrace was warm and tender, filled with comfort and support. At first I didn't hug back, but that was rectified when my arms wrapped themselves around her slightly smaller form. Then I focused on the feeling of her within my arms. She was so warm and soft. It felt nice. I couldn't understand how she always seemed to be as strong and unwavering as a rock. No matter how distraught I was, she was always there, a solid figure, to keep me sane.

"I'm sure that things will be alright… You're gonna figure it out…" she whispered encouragingly into my right ear before she pulled a bit away.

I opened my eyes and looked at her face. Her eyes were a bit watery, but she was smiling at me with reassurance.

"Now go," she said and invigoratingly patted her hands on my upper arms, "The sooner you go, the sooner you'll be able to join us again!"

She gave me a big grin and let completely go of me, taking a step back while she folded her hands together behind her back. At first I didn't move. I only stared at her face feeling slightly confused. But then I couldn't help but copy the grin she was wearing. My lips twisted up into a full smirk. Confident. Convincing. Then I quickly dried my tears away with the sleeve of my osode.

"Are you that eager to get rid of me?" I jokingly asked her, knowing full well that she was anything but eager to see me go.

She laughed lightly at my joke: "No, I just want you back as quick as possibly!"

My smirk softened into a tender smile: "I don't know how long it will take… but if I can make it, I'll try to return to Kaede's village within a month's time."

She closed her eyes and returned my tender smile with one of her beautiful soft smiles where she closed her eyes in contentment.

"Deal!" she exclaimed happily.

She opened her eyes and looked at me with a soft shine in her brown eyes, wordlessly wishing me good luck on my journey. I nodded a single time, then turned around to exit the village. When I was on the other side of the damaged entrance way, I looked over my shoulder to look at her. Lifting her hand into the air, she waved me goodbye. I returned her wave with a waving salute. Then I returned to walking away from the taijiya village, onwards on my own journey to find Ūgama.

~oOo~

I had been traveling for what felt like a few hours. It was hard to determine since I was in a very wooded area. The trees concealed the night sky with their leafy crowns which made it impossible to determine the time by the position of the moon. Though I couldn't see the night sky, the silvery beams of the moon was sharp enough to shine down between the leaves and light up my path. I couldn't be hundred percent sure that I was heading south, but I had a persuasive sixth sense that told me that I was heading in the right direction. And I trusted that feeling.

Suddenly I felt an approaching yōki, the yōki seemed familiar. I couldn't recall where I had felt it before, but I had. It felt nonthreatening, but I didn't want to take any chances now that I was on my own. My hand landed on the tsuka of Ōginsairensā, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. I took a defensive stance and awaited the arrival of the ever approaching yōki.

The leaves to my right began to rustle when something seemed to try to breach the foliage. Slowly I began to unsheathe my blade, but before I could completely draw my weapon, a familiar head appeared from the foliage. Then a second head appeared. I blinked in surprise when I saw the two green dragon-like heads. The two pair of yellow eyes zeroed in on me blinking a single time like it hadn't been expecting to encounter me. Then a greeting growl came from both the long necks the dragon yōkai sported.

"You?" I said, flabbergasted at seeing Sesshōmaru's dragon companion.

It quickly walked over to me and I sheathed my blade. When it was close enough to me, it stopped up and stretched its long necks to present me with its heads. Its eyes closed quickly when my hands landed on a head each, scratching its heads affectionately.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked while I let my fingers mingle into its soft manes, "Aren't you supposed to be with Sesshōmaru-sama?"

When Sesshōmaru's name tumbled out of my lips, I opened my eyes in a panic. If I were to encounter him now, it wouldn't be good. I couldn't risk him getting in my way of finding Ūgama. Using my ability to sense yōki, I let my feelers stretch out as far as they could go. But the only yōki I could feel was the dragon's. It would seem that Sesshōmaru wasn't nearby… or that he was masking his yōki. But why would he mask his yōki now that I wasn't with Kagome? Wouldn't he recapture me now that I wasn't with her?

There was a soft rumble coming from the dragon while I kept petting its soft manes. But when I stopped the petting, it pulled both of its heads away from my stifled hands and looked at me with its intelligent yellow eyes.

"Is he nearby?" I asked in a serious tone.

It looked at me intensely for a few seconds before both heads shook from side to side, indicating that Sesshōmaru wasn't nearby. That made me sigh in relief. I didn't need more on my platter, what problems were concerned.

"Thank the kami," I whispered and closed my eyes.

My hands began to pet its manes again while I mused to myself what I should do about the dragon being here with me. That's when an idea crossed my mind.

"You know," I said gently while I kept petting its soft black manes, both heads rumbling with pleasure: "I'm headed towards the south … looking for a man named Hiito Ūgama."

One of the heads gave a chuff like it was indicating that it was listening to what I was telling it.

"A friend told me that I may be related to him," I continued on, "And I have a problem that he may be the only one who can help me with…"

This time both heads chuffed in unison.

"Would you like to join me on my journey?" I finally asked it and I stopped petting its head.

Both sets of eyes opened to look at me, the yellow orbs observing me with much intelligence. Then both heads surged forward and surrounded my head. One head on either side, they nuzzled their smooth and scaly cheeks against mine and rumbled pleasantly. I chuckled softly at their gesture and took it as its consensus for joining me on my journey.

"I take that as a yes!" I happily exclaimed.

It rumbled with pleasure which turned into a purr when I patted it lovingly on its turned-away cheeks. I couldn't help but be ecstatic about this turn of event. I had gotten a helpful traveling companion.

~oOo~

We used the next couple of hours to travel through the forest. When we exited it, my eyes were met by open plains of grass. The view in front of me was beautiful to witness: the moon's silvery rays of light made the grass look like a dark turquoise green color while a mild wind swept over the plains, making the grass roll like gentle waves. The view made me wish that Kagome was here with me to enjoy the beauty.

We settled down for the rest of the night, and at dawn I was awoken by a splitting headache. I could feel how a strong yōki enveloped me in an icy embrace and knew that it was _its_. Without disturbing my traveling companion, I sat down to meditate. Getting through the steps were easy and I soon found myself back within my mind, surrounded by darkness like the two previous times I had been meditating.

Time was at a still while I searched around me. I knew that _it_ was hiding somewhere in the dark and knew that those electric blue eyes would soon be staring at me. Curiosity and anticipation filled me while I waited for those eyes to look into my own eyes. I wasn't disappointed. To my right, I saw those electric blue eyes and was soon staring into them. They seemed to engulf me with how intensely they were looking into my own green eyes. Again, they seemed to shine like lightning striking with a certain coldness and calculatedness shimmering within their sparkling sheen.

Subconsciously I registered that the eyes seemed to come closer like one of us was approaching the other. But as the eyes seemed to come closer, it felt like something within me grew further and further away. And I didn't like that feeling.

I was torn away from my inner darkness when something seemed to pull me out. Gasping deeply, I felt the oxygen burn my lungs when it entered them. My eyes sprung open and I was looking into two pair of yellow eyes that was shining with concern. Had I stopped breathing again like the last time?

Taking multiple breaths, I felt my heart slow its previously fast paced beating. And after a while I felt calm enough to speak to the dragon.

"I'm alright," I whispered, "Sorry that I woke you up."

It chuffed at me and took a few steps back so that I could sit up. Sitting up I saw that the dragon yōkai was still looking at me with a worried demeanor. I sighed tiredly at its gesture, though I could understand where it was coming from.

"You don't need to worry, I'm fine for now."

It didn't seem to believe me but nonetheless it let go of its worried demeanor and turned its attention to the sky. Getting up from the ground, I walked over to it, joining it in its skygazing. The sky was a gentle light blue with small white clouds scattered across the charming blues. It was relaxing to look at.

I turned my attention to my companion just as it turned both heads towards me.

"Let's head out so that we can cover as much ground as possible before it gets dark again."

Both heads huffed out in agreement. Then it lowered its body and glanced down at the saddle on its back to then turn its gazes back on me. It wanted me to get up on its back.

"Are you sure?" I asked it.

Both heads nodded. I looked at the saddle and decided to just do it. It would make the traveling time shorter since we would be able to cover much more ground by flying. And I had a feeling that time was of the essence. I climbed up on its back and grabbed a solid hold on the reins. When I was secured, it rose up from its lowered position. And in the next second, it took to the sky at an impressive speed.

~oOo~

I was astonished with how fast the dragon could fly. What felt like no time at all, we had passed over the long range of now-green plains we had seen the night before. The scenery changed from plains to mountains, and then to another long stretch of forest. By the time the sun was hanging low in the sky, I could see the sea in the distance. It was marvelous that I would be able to find Ūgama quicker than I had anticipated. What should have taken a week on foot, had taken less than a day on the back of a dragon yōkai's back. But now came the problem of introducing myself to him. After all, Sango had said that he was a taijiya and I couldn't know for sure if he was going to try exterminate me. It was his job. Yet, he had yōkai blood, so maybe he wouldn't just attack me on sight. I hoped that he wouldn't just attack me.

When we got closer to the sea, I was able to discern a small village close to the shore. The forest we were flying over went all the way to the edge of the town. Hopefully, there was a barren patch amongst the trees that the dragon would be able to land in.

"See if you can find a bare spot to land in within the forest which is close enough to the village!" I yelled to the yōkai so that it could hear what I tried to tell it.

It roared in understanding and slowly descended so that it was flying closer to the tree tops. The speed dropped as well while it searched for a place to land. What felt like no time at all, I felt it descend amongst the trees and I spotted the small clearing it had found. Glancing up, I could see that the town was about half an hour on foot away from where we were landing. It was perfect.

The dragon landed in the clearing with ease and when all four feet were planted solidly on top of the earthy ground, I got off of its back. My legs felt a little sore when I landed on the ground, but otherwise I felt fine. Slowly I walked around it so that I was facing its heads.

Those intelligent yellow eyes, settled into both of its adorable heads, were watching me patiently. My hands sought out a head each and I gave it the affection it was so well deserving of.

"Thank you so much," I whispered to it, "Without you I would first have arrived here in a week."

It purred at me while both sets of eyes closed with glee. At that moment, I wished that I knew what its name was. It wasn't like it could tell me its name itself. But maybe it didn't have a name. While I was traveling with Sesshōmaru, there hadn't been any mentions of its name. It was always referred to as _it_, _you_, or _dragon_. Maybe I should try come up with a name for it. Though that would sadly have to wait since I needed to concentrate on the imminent encounter with Ūgama.

"What I have to do next, I have to do on my own," I whispered to it in a tender manner, "I don't know if he would try to harm you if he saw you, so you can't come with me…"

It grumbled gently like it understood me. Slowly, I stopped the caring petting I had been giving it since we'd landed in the clearing and took a backwards step.

"Take care," I said in farewell and slowly backed away from it.

It softly roared to me in parting. I turned around and exited the clearing we were in and headed in between some tall trees.

While I walked closer to the edge of the forest, I could feel a yōki. Though I had never sensed it before, it seemed somewhat familiar. It somehow reminded me of Gin's yōki, and I wondered if it was perchance Ūgama that I could feel.

Without realizing it, I had stopped up when I had sensed the yōki, but I soon understood that the yōki was gaining up on me. And fast. Super-fast. I had barely any time to turn towards the approaching form before I saw the silvery gleam of a sword arching down towards me. On pure instinct I was able to dodge the incoming attack. My mind was working in a fast pace and I recognized the silvery shine of the long blade from somewhere. However, before I could figure out from where I recognized it, the blade arched towards me in a sideways sweep. I was lucky that this part of the forest had more space in between the trees because I was able to make a hasty jump backwards without stumbling into a tree. Though the silver blade didn't graze my skin, it did manage to cut through my osode, just above my obi. With the same swing, the blade managed to cut the rem of my duffle bag and I heard it fall heavily to the earthy ground.

_Shit, he's super-fast!_ I thought in frustration.

While I was dodging the fast cleaving weapon, I finally succeeded in grabbing a hold on the tsuka of my ōdachi. I dodged another sweep of the sharp silver blade and finally got my blade out of its saya. The next swing of the blade that was meant to cleave me, I parried. My right hand had a secure hold on the black and red tsuka while my left hand supported the back of the blade, about a third of the blades length from the tip of the blade. There was so much force in the overhead swing that the wielder made that I was pushed a few feet backwards before I was able to resist the push. The muscles in my arms tensed immensely with the pressure that was put on them. I was barely able to hold my ground, but I somehow managed. And with the pause there was to the attacks, with me holding the attacker at bay, I had finally time to take a good look at the blade as well as its wielder. I was shocked to see that the blade was a true copy of the one in my hands. Though the blade was shining like pure silver and I could feel the yōki pulsing from it. Following the length of the silver blade, past the silver tsuba, I saw a pair of big and masculine hands. Most of the hands were covered by a pair of black tekkou. My eyes glided further up until I finally was face to face with my attacker. I gasped when I saw the face of my attacker.

* * *

**A/N: And that's it for now; what do you think?**

**I know that I've left it on a cliffhanger, and it's cruel of me, but I'm not sorry. Cliffhangers are an annoyance to say the least, but it's those cliffhangers that makes one come back for more.**

**As of now, I only have one more finished chapter. I've been struggling with chapter 32 for weeks now – hitting a dry spell is always frustrating. I know the general ideas of what I want to happen, but I just can't seem to get it down on paper (or computer screen to be more exact.) If I finally manage to get through the chapter, I would like to apologize in advance if it's not up to standard.**

**Anyways, enough rambling about me being creatively stuck; I will get the chapter done in time; I promise. Have a pleasant rest of the weekend and stay safe everyone.**

**A/N – a few glossaries:**

_**Tekkou**_** – protective cloth covering the forearms and the back of the hands.**


End file.
